


Covenant of Silence

by ResiGamerGirl



Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: Adventure, Danger, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28582095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ResiGamerGirl/pseuds/ResiGamerGirl
Summary: The movie doesn't really give you a whole lot, just teases potential mostly. Here's my attempt to add a bit more story, character, and excitement. Enjoy!
Kudos: 1





	1. Survival of the Fifth Son

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I began in 2009 on fanfiction.net and maybe added a chapter or two in 2014. I don't know. It was too long ago. I remembered nothing about the story and nothing much about the movie. However, a couple lovely readers asked over the years if I intended to continue and finish. I dislike leaving anything unfinished so I promised to complete the story one day. I watched the movie last night and will go through old chapters and notes to remember and attempt a solid finish. Despite the passage of time, I hope some find the story worth reading. If you've read, thank you!

_The year is 2007. It has been two months..._

...Since Caleb's birthday and the incident with Chase Collins. Chase tried to force Caleb to will him his powers which would have resulted in Caleb's death. In the process of executing this plan, Chase put a spell on Pogue's girlfriend, Kate, in order to get to Pogue. He put Pogue in the hospital badly hurt and threatened Caleb's girlfriend, Sarah, in order to get to Caleb, thereby forcing him to will Chase his powers. There was a huge fight between Caleb and Chase with their powers and Chase lost when Caleb's dad willed him his own power, allowing Caleb to have equal strength with Chase which helped defeat him as he had the element of surprise. Chase was thought to have been killed but no body was ever found so it is unknown whether Chase is alive or not. And Caleb didn't care.

/

_Saturday 10:52 p.m._

“Hey, Caleb, I missed you,” Sarah Wenham said, sitting on the bar stool beside Caleb Danvers. They were hanging out at the club like always, just relaxing and having a good time. Reid Garwin was playing pool against some guy and Tyler Simms was sitting at one of the tables with Pogue Parry and Kate Tunney. Caleb turned to look at Sarah, grinning broadly.

“Sarah, you're back.”

She smiled. “Yep. Two weeks. Felt like a century though.”

They kissed.

“I know. Tell you what. How about next time your grandmother wants to see you, she can come here to visit,” Caleb suggested with a smile.

Sarah laughed. “Yeah, sure. I'll make sure to mention that to my eighty-year-old grandmother who uses a walker, next time I see her.”

Caleb laughed too and they kissed again. She glanced over at the dance floor and stood up. She held out her hand for Caleb to take.

“Come on. Let's dance.”

They did. Soon, Pogue and Kate joined them on the floor, dancing together. Tyler went over to Reid and the two made conversation while Reid was beating his opponent at pool. Reid also flirted with the ladies a bit but Tyler just hung back. He was shy compared to the other three. But all things aside, they had a good time.

/

_Sunday 7:58 a.m._

“Chase! Chase!”

Chase Collins opened his eyes and tilted his head toward the door as two little girls ran into the room. He was sleeping in the Gordons' guest bedroom, and had been doing so for the last two months. Ever since the night he tried to kill Caleb Danvers by forcing him to will his power. Chase shook his head, ridding the gloomy thoughts from his head. He felt guilty enough as it was, hurting the sons when all they had been were his friends. His mind turned back to the present as the two girls bounced onto his bed.

“Come on, Chase! Get up! It's already eight o'clock.”

Chase sat up and stretched slightly with a yawn before looking at the older child, Jill, who had spoken to him. “Eight o'clock. Is that all?”

Their mother, Mrs. Gordon, or Emily as she preferred him to call her, came to the bedroom door. She poked her head in from the hallway. “I'm so sorry, Chase. I tried to keep them outside for as long as I could. They wanted to wake you an hour ago.”

“Yeah, but we let you sleep in, so come on,” the nine-year-old insisted.

Her six-year-old sister, Kiri, piped up, “Yeah, we wanna play! Come on, Chase!” She grabbed his arm and latched on. “Pleeease.” She gave him a pleading puppy-dog face.

Chase pretended to be stern but then broke into a grin and rolled his eyes. “Okay fine, you win.”

“Yay!” the two girls exclaimed.

Emily spoke from the doorway. “Fine, but let's give Chase some privacy so he can get ready. Come, girls, let's go.”

The small girls scampered out of the room and Emily Gordon gave Chase an apologetic look before following her daughters. She knew he had been up late the previous night working at the local club. Right after Emily disappeared, Mr. Gordon or rather, Frank, walked past the doorway and said something to Chase without pausing as he passed.

“Sorry about that, Chase. Those girls run purely on sugar.” Then he was gone.

He got dressed quickly. He didn't want to leave Kiri and Jill waiting as they had little patience. He smiled to himself. He was actually really happy living with this family. They were good to him, kind, and Chase loved those girls. Chase felt like an older brother to them and it was nice having someone to watch out for and having them depend on him as well.

/

_2 p.m._

Chase had spent the afternoon fixing up the fence that went around the front of the Gordons' house. The morning was spent playing with Kiri and Jill. So far it had been a good day. Sometimes his days were not so good and on those dark days he would avoid the Gordon house. He didn't want them to see him on those days. When the urge to use his power nearly consumed him. Chase stood, admiring his handiwork. The fence looked good and went nicely around the large, two-story yellow painted house. As he was finished with the fence, he decided he would go for a walk. He often took walks by himself. He needed it to get through each day. The silence and peace was the only thing that could comfort him besides the Gordons' children.

Chase had always been alone. He couldn't remember his biological parents because he was adopted when he was only two years old. His adoptive parents told him his biological father left his mother before he was even born and two years later she died. An accidental drowning, the papers said. Chase caught on as soon as he was old enough to understand, that he was not wanted. His adoptive parents wanted nothing to do with him. That was why his first word to his family were to the maid, calling her mom when he mistook her for his mother. He had been raised exclusively by his parents' maid and butler. He discovered at an early age that he was adopted only so his parents received good publicity.

His adoptive father was a businessman and had time for nothing else. Chase's adoptive mother was the same way with her fashion line. In public, Chase was their beloved son who got whatever he liked. But in private, he was to leave them alone. If he was to speak to them, he was to refer to them as Arthur and Helen. They made it clear he was not their son but he could live there so long as he played the part of a dutiful son in the public eye. They did not get along with each other either. Helen was an alcoholic and Arthur had anger issues.

Chase learned about the anger firsthand when he was eight years old. He usually stayed hidden away in his room playing with his toys because whenever he was home, that was where he was ordered to stay. But a classmate invited him to a birthday party and he went downstairs to ask Arthur permission to go. He had been beaten so badly that he never dared ask for anything again. Soon after that first beating, he soon began receiving regular beatings whenever Arthur was frustrated with work. Helen was too drunk to do anything about it and if she was in the room she would simply sit and watch. Every now and then she even added in a slap or kick.

The maid, Doris, and the butler, Lionel, tried to make up for his parents' abuse. They would buy him unnecessary gifts and every now and then, for no apparent reason, Doris would hug and hold him there for a few moments. Lionel was an older gentleman and he would often sit down with Chase and talk to him. They were always telling him to remember that most people were not as bad as his parents. That things would get better eventually. Things never did and Chase grew to hate. He hated his parents and despised his mother for dying and leaving him in the hell that was called his home. At school he was withdrawn and talked to no one. Then when he was thirteen, he learned of his power. He had no idea what it was but it terrified him. He remembered how it had come to him in the middle of the night and he couldn't control it. How he huddled in the corner of his bedroom crying softly so Helen and Arthur would not hear, begging the toys in his room to stop levitating.

Soon after he became addicted to the power. It was his only release for the rage continuing to build inside of him. He felt better when he knew he had power. It was then that he began to talk to his fellow students. He created a different persona altogether. Someone others would like. Thus, Chase's tough, cocky exterior was born and was how he allowed people to see him. There was one who he had allowed to see his real personality, but she was gone now. He'd left everything behind, even her. He supposed Kate could be included as well. He slipped into his true self now and then when he was with her. It was hard to keep a mask on at all times and Kate had been kind and honest to him. He couldn't help himself. She reminded him of the girl he left behind in Haversfield.

It had taken an exceptionally strong will for Chase to control himself with his power. He would not use it on people, not ever. Even as the verbal and physical abuse continued with Helen and Arthur, he didn't let it get him to use. He instead used it in private, taking out his anger on inanimate objects. Eventually, Chase began staying out late and sneaking in when his “parents” had gone to bed. Then proceeded to sneak out especially early to go to school. This way he rarely saw them and the abuse became minimal and life went on, a little better than before. School became his salvation and she, his savior.

But no one had warned him about how addictive the power was. No one ever told him what would happen when he was eighteen either. He remembered the day Helen and Arthur learned of his power, on his eighteenth birthday. He shuddered at the memory, drawing in a sharp intake of breath. Enough of those memories. They would do him no good. Suddenly his thoughts turned to his biological father. He could feel his presence nearby. He closed his eyes and willed the spirit to leave. After a moment, Chase could sense his father's ghost was gone. When Chase turned eighteen, this was a power he obtained. The gift of being able to see and speak to the dead as long as they had yet to pass on to the afterlife. The spirits came to him and he chose if he wanted to see them or not. He first learned of this power six months ago, when his biological father called out to him.

Chase only met his real father once when he was alive. He had found him after the car crash that claimed his adoptive parents' lives. His dad told him all about the covenant and how they betrayed his family generations ago. He willed him his power and died. Chase didn't know what to do with what he learned and the revenge his father desired. He had inherited his adoptive family's enormous fortune but wanted nothing to do with it. Helen and Arthur had been evil and he wanted nothing to do with them or their money. He had immediately seen to it that a fourth of their money be given to Doris and Lionel, as well as the Collins's manor. Chase tried to give all of the money to them but the two former servants refused and he'd barely been able to convince them to take a fourth of it. And so the rest of Helen and Arthur's fortune sat in the bank gathering dust for all Chase cared. He kept a minimal amount to sustain him for a while.

So when his biological father found him six months ago, he learned of this power. The power that allowed the dead to find him if they wished. It was at this time his dad demanded Chase needed to avenge their family. He had told him of the sons of Ipswich and how they were the last of their bloodlines. His father ordered him to go and claim their powers on the days they ascended. When he had taken all of their powers and thus, all of their lives, he was to return to his father.

But after the night he fought Caleb, losing caused him to see what evil he had done. He hadn't wished to see his father again. Since Chase didn't wish to see his father, his father did not come. That was part of his gift. The spirits could only visit if he allowed it. Chase felt terrible for what he had done for his father. He would never forgive himself for killing that guy from the school in Ipswich he had gone to undercover. The guy discovered his power and he felt he had no choice but to kill him. Chase remembered how he vomited in the woods after he did it. He felt so sick but he'd put on a fake smile and headed to the party where he knew the Sons would be regardless. He had to. For his father.

Chase kicked a twig laying on the ground as he headed into the woods near the Gordons' house. What was nice about their house was that they lived a good few miles from their neighbors so it was always very quiet. He sighed in tired frustration. Even though he felt as though he found a new family here with the Gordons, he knew he couldn't stay forever. Right now his life had come to a complete standstill but at least he was happy. It had been a while since he had been truly happy. Again, Chase saw her face. Remembering the ways she smiled, her laugh, her voice. He shook the memories of her away. Knowing how he had left her the way he had only made it hurt that much more. She was probably the sole woman he would ever love and he left her behind.

Chase was struck by the sensation he was no longer alone. He heard the voice of a woman whispering in his head. Although he didn't recognize the voice, he somehow felt he knew her. He concentrated, using his power to call the spirit to him, his eyes clouding over into blackness. The next moment he felt a cool chill and the black faded from his eyes as he looked to see a woman standing before him. She appeared to be a wispy white figure, barely solid. Chase could see right through her body to the trees behind. Even pale and see-through, she was pretty. What Chase was drawn into were the eyes. They were deep, sad eyes filled with the grief that could only come from great loss. The woman gazed at Chase steadily with her sad eyes and spoke after a moment.

“Chase... Chase, you've grown so much.”

Chase stared. “Do I know you?”

A small smile threatened to grow on the woman's face.

“You may not remember me, but I remember you. I could never forget you. I'm just sorry I didn't get to spend much time with you, Chase. You know, you were the miracle I had been waiting for. You were beautiful and look at you now. You've grown into a handsome young man.”

Right then he knew. He knew who this woman was and he could feel that it was true.

“Mother?”

This time the woman did smile slightly. She seemed to have trouble smiling. As if it hurt too much to do. She reminded him of himself. Chase rarely smiled growing up. He had certainly produced fake smiles often enough, especially when he was undercover at the Sons' school a couple months back. Chase internally sighed. It would seem life had not been fair to him or his mother.

“Are you okay?” his mother asked.

She took a moment to stare into his eyes. She could see that past the calm, was a sense of deep sorrow and despair. It was something about Chase most people never noticed. He could see how she saw through him. Chase said nothing.

“Yes, I am your mother. My name is-”

Chase finished her sentence. “Elaine Pope.”

The woman's eyes remained in her fixed sad gaze, her lips turned up in a smile. The smile faded soon after and though she could not physically touch him, she placed a hand close to Chase's cheek as if caressing it lovingly.

“I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, Chase. I know your life hasn't been easy and you deserve so much better. I'm sorry I failed you.”

“No you didn't. Don't be sorry. What was done to me was not your fault.”

She nodded and slowly lowered her hand from his face. Concern filled her features.

“Chase. I found you out to warn you.”

He looked at his mother, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You are aware of your full abilities?” she asked.

Chase nodded solemnly and lowered his head in shame, turning his head away from the spirit.

“Elaine, your son has become evil. I use my powers far too much and I use them selfishly.”

His mother looked angry. “Don't you ever say that! Don't you ever talk like that again.”

Chase was shocked by her sudden anger and could sense the fury that had burst from the spirit. He looked at his mother as she began to address him and he knew he needed to listen.

“You..are a good boy, Chase. You have the heart of someone good. You did what you did out of love, for your father.” His mother sighed. “You sometimes may be naive, concerning your father especially, but you are kind and care when others are hurting. You made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, Chase, and no matter how many you make, I will always love you.”

He didn't know what to say. Elaine's ghostly eyes glistened with tears but she held them back. “Now, Chase, to why I needed to be here. The covenant, the Sons of Ipswich, are in danger. People are looking for them, and you.”

Confusion filled Chase once again. “What? What people? I thought no one knew of the covenant.”

“They do, and they are dangerous. Many seek to exploit the covenant for its power and others will try to destroy it. You need to be careful.” Elaine glanced behind her as if she heard something. She turned back to him, her eyes wide. “I have to go, Chase. Warn the Sons of Ipswich. Warn them of the smoking man.”

She turned as if to walk away, fading into mist and vanishing. Chase stared at the spot where his mother's spirit had been standing for a good hour. Finally he turned and headed out of the woods. It was time for Chase to face his fears, and the Sons of Ipswich.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was surprised to find the fandom is rather active. I don't recall it being popular during the time I tried writing for it. That's cool. Could have something to do with who a couple of the actors became? I was startled when I realized who Tyler's actor is playing nowadays. And of course Sebastian Stan is fairly well known these days.


	2. The Smoking Man

_Monday 1:30 p.m._

Caleb held Sarah's hand as they walked across the campus of the private high school. The two had just finished with their classes for the day and were crossing the vast yard to meet with Pogue and Kate. On the right, Caleb noticed Tyler and Reid standing nearby laughing together. The Sons spotted Caleb and Sarah, and Reid called out to them, walking over.

“Hey, Caleb, beautiful,” Reid greeted with a nod to Sarah, trying to charm the ladies as always. Tyler's greeting was much more simple.

“Hi.” The quiet Son went silent again, sneaker scuffing the ground.

“Hey, Reid. Hi, Tyler,” Sarah said in greeting.

“Hey, guys,” Pogue called to them while approaching the group. Kate was with him. Something he saw caused Pogue to stop short of the others. Kate followed his gaze and a smile broke out across her face, eyes wide with surprise.

“Chase!” she exclaimed.

Chase Collins stood several yards away from the group of six, watching them, hands shoved in the pockets of his green coat. After exclaiming the name, Kate raced across the yard to where he stood and hugged him tightly. Chase's eyes got big in confusion and surprise. The Sons told Kate about how Chase nearly killed her when he cursed her two months ago, but strangely Kate had only said one thing.

_“He had his reasons I'm sure.”_

Immediately afterward, she stated she forgave him and occasionally would voice her wonder as to where Chase might be. Any mention of the guy drove Pogue crazy to no end since he loathed the guy. Caleb and the guys glared at Chase, their stances hostile. Sarah looked up at him.

“Caleb, what's he doing here?”

He was concerned by this turn of events, frowning in Chase's direction. He worried for Sarah's safety.

“Come on, guys, let's see what this is about,” Caleb suggested.

They nodded, no trace of a smile could be found on any of them. Well, except for Kate. She grinned up into Chase's face after releasing him from her tight embrace.

“Where have you been, idiot? I missed you.”

Chase's face seemed frozen in stunned confusion. He had placed a spell on the woman before. A dangerous spell that could have killed her, and yet, not a trace of anger or fear or resentment of any kind on her face. Her arms were still on his shoulders and he became aware of this as the Sons and Sarah approached. Pogue was walking faster than the others and he reached them first, wrenching Kate away from Chase as quick as he could.

“Ow. Pogue!”

“Go stand by Sarah, Kate.”

Kate looked furious. “Pogue-”

“Just do it, Kate!” her boyfriend demanded, his voice filled with so much anger that Kate did as she was told. As soon as Kate stepped away, Pogue rounded on their enemy.

“What the hell are you doing here, Chase?”

Before he could speak, Pogue grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him against the tree nearby. “What are you doing here, Chase?” he shouted.

The guy stared calmly back at Pogue, suppressing the urge to feel scared and angry. Caleb reached them along with Tyler and Reid.

“Pogue, back off,” Caleb said, his tone serious. Pogue looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and frustration.

“Pogue,” Caleb said again. Finally Pogue stepped back, but not far. He turned to the problem. “You must be crazy showing up here, Chase.”

“I'm not here by choice, okay? I'd leave you guys alone but this is important.”

He was not happy to hear that and his face showed it. He started to speak to warn him off but Chase spoke.

“You're all in danger. I needed to warn you.”

Caleb glared in anger. “Why? What are you gonna do, Chase?”

The warlock looked startled at the accusation. Then Reid and Pogue were stepping forward, ready to pick a fight with him. Reid, always eager to use his powers, shouted a warning to his friends and sent an aura of black energy shooting toward Chase. Caught by surprise, Chase dove to avoid it a moment too late and it glanced off his shoulder, sending him flipping to the ground.

He got up perfectly all right but anger flooded through him and his eyes blackened, the urge to use power in retaliation clearly flooding his soul. The Sons readied themselves for the attack, including Tyler, who was usually the last to react with violence. It surprised them when Chase shook his head and blinked, the blackness fading from his eyes until his green eye color returned. He was visibly shaking from the force it took to swallow the desire to use, to fight back.

There was silence as they stared at Chase and he stared in return. For the first time, he appeared to realize the amount of hatred the Sons felt for him. He slowly let his hands fall to his sides and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I know you have no reason to trust me. In fact, it would be mad for you to. But if you have any sense of honesty, know that I mean well.”

“What are you talking about?” Pogue questioned suspiciously.

“You couldn't possibly understand,” Chase muttered softly. Turning to walk away, he glanced back. “Beware of someone who smokes. A man. I don't know any more than that.”

He left at a brisk pace. No one tried to stop him and after a moment Reid said, “He was just talking, lying.”

Caleb wasn't so sure. He felt like there was more to Chase's unexpected visit.

“But then why didn't he use his powers? Did you see the effort it took him to restrain the intoxicating hold of the power? Before, he could barely contain himself with his power and now he was able to control it. Something doesn't add up.”

Pogue placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder. “Come on. Obviously he must have seen he couldn't possibly beat us all, so he fled.”

He nodded agreement but he couldn't shake the feeling something else was going on. Reid and Tyler turned to leave. Pogue started to follow, turning to Caleb to say, “All I know is, that little shit better not show his face again. Or I swear I'll kill him.”

/

_3:45 p.m. Nicky's Club_

The Sons and girls were exiting their usual hang out spot after spending nearly two hours there. Kate was mad at Pogue. She made no attempt to hide her annoyance at the way he treated her earlier. Sarah was unusually quiet and the boys continued to pretend their encounter with Chase never happened. As they left the club to go to their cars, they paused when Reid and Tyler stopped to argue about which of them successfully hit on a girl inside.

“Typical boys,” Sarah said to Kate, trying to cheer her up, but only got a small strained smile.

“Caleb Danvers?”

All of them turned to find the source of the voice. A man leaned against the wall of the club. He wore an expensive black suit and tie and had slicked back brown hair that was slightly graying. He appeared to be in his mid to late forties and his pale gray eyes stood out. The man gazed at them blandly and took a drag of his cigarette. Once he got their attention, he tossed it to the ground and stamped it out. Standing straight, he walked over to them. Reid and Tyler paused their argument upon noticing the man as he started talking.

“Mr. Danvers, it's good to finally be able to meet you. I've waited some time for this.”

Caleb peered cautiously at the unknown man. “Do I know you?”

The stranger adjusted his tie and answered smugly. “You don't know me, Mr. Danvers, but I know you.” He looked the other three Sons over and added, “Of the Sons of Ipswich I know a lot.”

He pulled a cigarette pack out of the inside of his suit jacket and replaced it after pulling a cigarette from it. He put the stick between his lips and lit it, inhaling and then exhaling smoke.

“You four really do keep a low profile. Until the recent amount of activity in this town... Gotcha.”

He took another drag on his cigarette and that was when Caleb pieced it together. This was the person Chase warned them of, a smoking man. Caleb gave his friends a meaningful look, noting the man and the cigarette with head tilts. They caught on to his message.

“How do you know us?” Reid demanded, glaring.

He was given a small smile and Pogue impatiently demanded, “Answer him! Did Chase put you up to this?”

The man finished exhaling smoke and chuckled. “Mr. Collins? Hardly. He isn't even aware of my existence. Actually, it was the rather loud incident between you Sons and the previously mentioned Mr. Collins which alerted me to your location. Though Mr. Collins seems to have disappeared into the wind.” He took another puff and stepped closer to Caleb.

Caleb winced and stepped away from the smoking man. A weird feeling had coursed through his body when the man came nearer. An unsettling feeling that made him nauseous and weak. It was like his power had gone from him.

“What was that?” He asked, searching for an answer. The sensation had vanished as soon as he'd stepped away and he had no idea what just happened.

The man flicked his cigarette onto the cement and crushed it beneath his foot, giving Caleb that small smile of his. He proceeded to pull a necklace out from under his dress shirt and held it on display for them to see.

“Your powers are useless around me. This necklace, the symbol on it in particular, stifles the power you hold.”

The Sons stared at him in disbelief, and at the necklace. It had a symbol resembling a backward S with a line going through the center.

“Yeah right,” Reid said.

His eyes blackened as he prepared to use his power but suddenly sparks flew from them. His black eyes glowed bright white before returning to their usual blue. He looked shocked and that quickly became anger.

“Son of a bitch! Well if I can't blast you then I'll just beat you the good old fashioned way!”

Reid stepped toward the man, raising his fists in a menacing way. The smoker sighed in annoyance and unbuttoned his suit jacket, opening the left side to reveal a gun holster with a black handgun fitted snugly inside.

“I strongly advise against taking violent action toward me. It would be most unwise.”

A black limousine with tinted windows pulled up to Nicky's club. The limo driver got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening the side door. He stood there in silence, his face expressionless and partly hidden by dark sunglasses. The stranger glanced at him and the driver nodded. He nodded back and examined the Sons.

“Again, a pleasure to meet you all, including the lovely Miss Wenham and Miss Tunney, however, it seems this conversation must be continued another time. I have other matters to attend to but believe me, I am not finished with the Sons of Ipswich.” He smirked and walked to the car.

Stopping briefly to light a cigarette, he got into the back of the limo. The driver shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. For a moment he paused, looking directly at Caleb. He got in the car. The limousine pulled away from the club and drove off. The group of them remained silent.

Reid turned around to the others wearing a worried expression. “What was that?”

Pogue spoke confusion. “So, this means..Chase was telling the truth.”

“Why would he warn us?” Reid asked, matching Pogue's inability to comprehend. “He doesn't care about us so why would he do that?”

Kate frowned. “Why are you guys like that? Why can't you give Chase a chance?”

Everyone looked at her and Pogue uttered, “What are you talking about, Kate?”

Caleb piped up. “Kate, Chase is no good. He tried to kill me. He nearly killed Pogue and he could have killed you and Sarah.”

“But he didn't,” Kate replied, folding her arms and standing her ground.

Surprisingly Tyler spoke up. “He is the heir to the bastard son of Hagan Pope. He's dangerous.”

Kate glowered. “His descendants in no way make him a bad person. It's not his fault who his ancestors are.” She focused on Caleb. “And how can you judge him? You don't know him.”

They were astounded. They didn't know how to react. It was then that her best friend stepped in. “Kate, girl to girl, Chase is bad news. He almost killed you.”

She shrugged it off. “No, he cursed me. He never intended for me to die. Besides, he was a really good friend. Sometimes when he was with me, I could tell he was normal and honest. And he didn't kill any of us after all, now did he? Doesn't that count for something?”

“Are you in love with this guy, Kate?” Pogue demanded, glaring at her accusingly. “Because you just can't seem to get him off your mind.”

Kate's expression grew sad. “We're just friends, Pogue.” She stepped up to him and caressed his cheek. “It's you I love.”

She kissed him and when she pulled away, she laid her head on his shoulder and smiled with contentment. The argument was forgotten for now. Caleb couldn't say how long that would last.

Again Tyler surprised them by being the one to say something decisive. “We should find him.”

All eyes landed on the youngest of the Ipswich Sons and Sarah began nodding.

“You're right. He was truthful when he told us about a smoking man. We really need to find him. We need answers.”

/

_9:03 p.m. Danvers Manor_

After several hours of asking around campus in search of where Chase could have gone, they had nothing. A bit disheartened, the group decided to head to Caleb's house to decide their next move. Their guard went up as soon as they pulled into the driveway. Because parked in front of Caleb's house? The black limousine.

They wasted no time parking and hurrying toward the house. As they did, the driver's door opened and the driver stepped out. The group hesitated, but the man simply tilted his head in their direction in acknowledgment of their presence. Again, his face was impossible to read. The driver watched as they headed to the front door and then they were inside.

No sooner did they enter the expansive foyer when voices could be heard from the next room. They went in the room, Caleb leading the way, to find his mom seated on the sofa near the fireplace. Unsurprisingly to him, she was emptying a straight vodka, most likely not her first or final drink of the night. He was used to his mom drinking herself to oblivion at night. She had done it every night since his dad left, years ago. But the difference now was tonight she was not alone. Stood near the fireplace in his black suit and tie was the smoking man. He had been speaking to Caleb's mother, abruptly halting speech when the Sons and girls entered.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Their looks showed they shared Pogue's hostility at the intrusion. Reid stepped forth with his fists clenched, hoping to lay on some hurt. Pogue placed a hand on Reid's chest to keep him from getting too close.

“You have no right coming here,” Caleb informed the unpleasant man.

“Caleb, learn your manners. Mr. Werner is a guest in this house and you will treat him accordingly,” his mom chastised, frowning toward him. Her attentions returned to the man lighting a second cigarette. “Apparently we went to school together.”

Caleb sighed, his embarrassment temporarily overcoming his anger. His mother was definitely drunk. He was embarrassed further when his mother smiled at the man with misplaced fondness.

“I hope you don't take offense, Mark. I don't remember many from high school.” She gestured with her glass. “Especially with all the drinking.”

The smoking man politely smiled. “Don't worry, Amy. It's quite alright. I have a forgettable face. Now I have greatly enjoyed your company, my dear, but I should be on my way.”

His mom appeared disappointed, face falling. “Oh? Is that so?”

“I'm afraid it is. I have a meeting I must attend.”

“So late?” she questioned curiously.

The guy put out his cigarette in the ashtray and gave her his small smile. “In my kind of work, these meetings are necessary.”

She laughed excessively, clearly the result of her drinking. “Well you simply must tell me all about what you do sometime.”

“Yes, sometime,” he replied, nodding his head to Caleb's mom in a polite gesture. “Good night, Amy. Have a pleasant evening.”

He strolled past the group and they heard the front door open and close. Leaving the girls inside despite their protests, the Sons followed. He was waiting for them, leaning against the limo as he lit a cigarette. Caleb couldn't believe how many he went through in a day.

The man pocketed the lighter and looked up at them with disinterest. He blew out smoke and stood straight. The Sons assembled outside and stared back, unsure if they were to speak or wait for him to take the initiative. The smoking man spoke first, canceling their uncertainty.

“I have information.”

“What?” Caleb asked bluntly. He didn't want this man around any longer.

“Information that I need you to use.”

“What kind of information?”

“A location.”

“Of what?” Caleb asked, slightly curious.

“Of whom, actually. The infamous Chase Collins. I received information from..certain individuals and now I'm here to tell you where he is. You have been searching for him, if I'm not mistaken.” He used a tone that said he knew exactly what was accurate. “He is currently living in a small town near Ipswich. A town called Durnom. Go to the club called Varsity and you will find him there.”

“Why do you want us to find him? Huh? Why is he so important to you? Who are you?” Reid asked, bombarding him with questions they were all wondering.

The man ignored his questions and opening the back limo door, he glanced to Reid. “Find him.”

He got into the car and the Sons watched until the car was out of sight. They stood in silent confusion for a moment before Caleb broke it.

“Tyler, get the girls. Durnom is a twenty minute drive from here. We're leaving now.”


	3. Misguided Sons of Ipswich

_Monday 9:27 p.m. The Varsity_

Durnom was a small town like Ipswich and the club was not hard to find. It was one of the only buildings still lit up. The faint sound of music could be heard as they pulled into the nearby parking lot. There were dozens of cars and as they entered the club, Caleb couldn't believe how packed the place was. He could see a large lighted room and music blared deafeningly loud. There were people dancing, drinking, and just all around having a good time. The current song ended and cut off altogether. The voice of a guy speaking on a microphone sounded out, coming from the center stage which was opposite the door they came through. Caleb recognized that voice. It was Chase.

“Hey. Is everybody having a good time tonight?” Chase asked the crowd and cheering broke out. They were definitely enjoying themselves. “Okay, well the regulars already know me, but for those of you who don't, my name's Chase Collins and I'll be singing you a song relating to my own life.”

The Sons and girls were surprised. Caleb never figured him to be the singing type. They got as far as the bar before it was too packed to get any closer and stopped there, watching Chase raise the microphone and begin to sing.

_“I open my eyes. I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light. I can't remember how, I can't remember why, I'm lying here tonight.”_

Chase put the mic close to his lips and shut his eyes as the music flowed.

_“And I can't stand the pain, and I can't make it go away. No, I can't stand the pain.”_

A brief pause and he started the chorus.

_“How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes. Got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life. I just wanna scream. How could this happen to me?”_

Caleb got the feeling this song was strongly relating to the night when he and Caleb had been in a fight to the death. Did the guy regret the things he had done? Could he believe that?

_“Everybody's screaming. I try to make a sound but no one hears me. I'm slipping off the edge. I'm hanging by a thread. I wanna start this over again. So I try to hold, on to a time when, nothing mattered. And I can't explain what happened, and I can't erase the things that I've done. No I can't.”_

The music pounded as it grew loud again. Caleb began to feel slightly sad but it wasn't him that was sad. He began to wonder if Chase's power was somehow subconsciously mixing with his voice, letting his own feeling and emotion spread to his listeners.

_“How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes. Got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life. I just wanna scream. How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes. Got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life. I just wanna scream. How could this happen to me?”_

He trailed to silence and the music ended. Chase thanked everyone and as he did so looking out at the crowd, he saw them. He paused for a moment and then said goodnight to everyone before walking off the stage and coming over to the Sons and Sarah. Kate wandered to the bathroom right after Chase reached them.

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.” It was a statement, not a question.

Caleb answered. “You were right about the smoking guy. He came to see us. Somehow he knows where I live and where we hang out.”

“We want to know everything you've got on this guy,” Pogue added. “What does he want? Who is he?”

Chase hesitated. “I don't know.”

Reid laughed in disbelief. “You don't know? This is just great. I'm so glad we came here.”

Caleb glanced at him and back at Chase. “Well at least tell us how you heard about this man. How did you know he would come looking for us?”

Chase averted his gaze to the floor.

“Chase?” Sarah questioned.

Finally he spoke. “You won't believe me. It sounds crazy.”

“As crazy as the fact that our family bloodlines all pass on power to the firstborn son? How much crazier could it be?”

/

Kate stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had been so ready to see Chase, to be able to talk to him again. Even after all he did to her and her friends. She had forgiven him and moved on. Kate sighed and turned the tap, placing her hands under the stream of water. She turned it off and grabbed a few paper towels, drying her hands.

She had begun to realize once she heard Chase sing that song, he hadn't moved on yet. It wasn't normal to be over something like that this quickly. She wasn't normal. Maybe she was just letting this get to her too much. Kate rolled her eyes and turned, exiting the bathroom. A man approached her. He appeared to be in maybe his mid-forties and his gaze sought her attention.

“Hi. I was wondering... I thought I saw you with Chase Collins. Is that right?”

Kate met the man's eyes. Gray blue color. Pretty. “That's right. You know Chase?”

He nodded. “Yeah. My name's John. I'm Chase's father.”

Kate was stunned. “Really? Does he know you're here? He's right over there.”

She started toward the group but John stopped her. “No.”

She let him stop her, looking at him. “Oh?”

John seemed embarrassed. “Sorry. It's just, I haven't seen him for a long time.”

Kate gave him a look of understanding. John reached into his jacket pocket. “Listen, could you give this to him for me?”

He held out a necklace with a pendant attached. A silver symbol which was like a curved line with another line running through it. Huh. New.

Kate accepted it from his hand and nodded. “Of course. Are you sure you don't want to see him? I mean, he is your son.”

She shifted her eyes to watch Chase talking to the guys. When John didn't answer, she turned back but the man was gone.

/

“Well okay then,” Chase said and it got quiet. “You want to know who told me about the smoking man. Well my mom did.”

Sarah tilted her head, confused. “What's strange about that?”

“My mother's been dead for sixteen years.”

“Then how-?” Sarah began and Chase cut her off.

“Part of my power when I ascended..is that I can sometimes sense the dead.”

Caleb nodded, getting it. “When I ascended, I gained the ability to read the souls of people if I look deep into their eyes and wish to do so.”

He gestured in the general direction of the other Sons. “Pogue gained the ability to heal people of physical injuries when he ascended. Reid can heal illness, like poison and stuff. We think.”

“Yeah, well, something must be going down to make my deceased mother come see me after all this time,” Chase put in.

Caleb noticed Kate returning from the bathroom. As soon as she was standing by them, he began to feel funny. The guys could have been feeling it too. He thought about bringing it up, seeing a couple creased brows and uncomfortable shifts.

Kate was studying Chase, saying his name in greeting and taking his hand. He stared at the necklace she placed in his palm. “Here. Your dad wanted me to give this to you.”

Upon contact with the necklace, Chase gasped in pain.

“Chase?” Kate reached for his arm, concerned.

He gasped in agony and stumbled back against the counter of the bar. “Kate,” he choked out. “Who gave this to you?”

“Uh, um, your dad did. Chase, what's wrong?”

“My dad is dead! He died months ago when he willed me his power. Who gave this to-?” Chase stopped short and collapsed on the floor.

“Get the necklace out of his hand!” Pogue yelled.

Tyler reached for it but when his fingers grazed the necklace, he flinched as if from pain and stepped back. The Sons recognized that necklace. It was the same one the smoker wore earlier. It was then three men in dark clothes pushed through the crowd armed with guns. Kate recognized one of them and identified him as the man who posed as Chase's father.

“He said his name was John!” she shouted, panicking and apologetic.

Two aimed their guns, ordering them to back away from Chase. A trio of girls standing nearby spotted the guns and one screamed. Panic ensued, people screaming and running in different directions. The fake dad, John, walked up to Chase, who was on his knees apparently feeling great pain. John grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him against the counter.

“Do you know why you're in so much pain, Mr. Collins?”

Chase's head dropped. He was losing consciousness and Caleb had to do something. John grabbed his chin, lifting his head back up to meet eyes. What did he want?

“This necklace is draining your power. Since you have so much of it, well..it hurts a lot.”

Following this comment, he took the necklace and placed it around Chase's neck. Caleb saw his eyes roll to the back of his head. A groan of pain escaped his lips. John slapped him across the face to keep him conscious. He couldn't use his powers in public and that necklace was stifling.

“Hey, don't sleep on me now. I want you to feel it.”

The Sons helplessly looked on. They couldn't use powers this close in proximity to the necklace and the other two men had guns pointed at them. Caleb searched around wildly for some way to help Chase. It was then the smoking man came into view. John turned Chase around and tied his hands behind his back, forcing him out of the club. The stranger blew out smoke and smiled at the Sons and girls.

“Thank you for helping me procure the extremely elusive Mr. Collins.” He stood there for a moment longer, smiling at them.

He left and they eyed the armed assholes in their way. The other two lowered their guns and left as well. Caleb raced outside after them, his friends close behind. The smoking man's limousine was already down the street and soon gone from view. Pogue raced for his motorcycle.

“I'll catch up and follow!” With that said, he put on his helmet and was off.

/

Pogue trailed the car for about thirty minutes. He kept his distance with the car barely in his sights so he wouldn't alert them to his presence. For a moment he lost the car and as he passed a large warehouse which was seemingly abandoned, he nearly missed it. The black car was parked in the back of the building, barely in view of the road. Pogue kept going so he wouldn't get spotted and pulled to the side of the road, well out of range of the warehouse. He tugged off his helmet and concentrated, his eyes clouding into blackness.

“Caleb,” he spoke out, calling to his friend. He could feel that Caleb could hear him and continued. “I found Chase. They've taken him to a warehouse about a half hour outside Ipswich. It's a straight shot. I'll wait for you here.”

He sat astride his bike, waiting for them.

/

Chase had been taken to some kind of a warehouse or storage facility. The necklace stopped hurting him after a while but he could feel it heavy. Like a large weight hung around his neck. He could feel his body was completely drained of paranormal power. When he wore the necklace, he was normal.

After the car parked, he was forced out by two men. “John” switched places with one of the men holding Chase's arm. The man who switched with John stayed outside, standing guard. He was brought into the building and the smoking man followed. It was one big room and brightly lit. Brick walls and concrete flooring.

Waiting for them inside was a man possibly in his thirties with brown hair and green eyes. The eyes reminded him of his own eyes. The man wore blue jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and a brown jacket. He crossed the distance to them and smiled at Chase pleasantly.

“Chase Collins. It's wonderful finally getting to meet you after all these years. Based on your previous actions, I see you've turned out just like your father.”

Presumably judging by the blank stare he gave the guy, introductions were in order.

“My name is Shawn Austin. I'm your uncle, Chase.”

Those words threw him for a loop. “What?”

“Your dad was my brother. Oh, but don't worry, I hated the bastard.” He waved his hand in the air, as if to dismiss the topic. “So anyway, now that we're acquainted, I would really like to apologize for how you were brought here. I just couldn't risk anyone stopping us from meeting. As to why I brought you here, it's quite simple. I have a proposition.”

He motioned to one of the men flanking Chase and he untied his hands. Austin peered into his eyes. Unnerving.

“I want you to join me. Together we can make this world a better place. All you have to do is will me the power of authority to the covenant. Yes, you do have the power to do that. Any existing member of the covenant can will someone with power, authority over the covenant. You simply say the words and it won't even kill you. Think of the good we could do for the world.”

He paused when a grin broke out across Chase's face. Shaking his head slowly to display his disappointment at the pathetic speech, he scoffed.

“I can't believe how cliché you are. It's just like the typical villain to claim taking absolute power will be for the greater good. The only person it will serve is you. I know better than anyone how addicting the power can be. Though I am intrigued you have power too. I thought that only went to the firstborn son.”

Despite his annoyance at Chase's mockery of him, he answered. “You heard wrong. The Sons of Ipswich are a misguided bunch it would seem. I am not a villain who wants to take over the world. I really do want to use it for the benefit of the people. Think of the crime we could stop with these powers. We'd be unstoppable.”

Chase was quick to reply. “See, there you go again with the self-gratitude. I know how to lie. You have yet to master that technique. I can read the hunger for the power in your eyes. Once I willed you the power of authority you would immediately expel all members of the covenant, stripping us of our powers and taking them as your own. What I did a couple months ago? I was an idiot and that kind of mistake isn't gonna happen again. In fact, I think you know you won't be able to talk me into it. You just love to hear yourself talk, don't you?”

Austin's eyes narrowed. “You're a smart ass. Like your father. Let me get this straight. You're saying..?”

“I'm saying no, never. I've learned how destructive this power can be and what it can do if you let it consume yourself. I won't let that happen again.”

“Disappointing,” Austin said and took a few steps closer to Chase, studying him. “I have had three people will me their power.”

Chase was once again surprised. There were others with powers like his own? Others not of the bloodlines? How could this be possible? Unless there were other bloodlines he and the covenant Sons had no idea existed. This seemed very probable right about now. Disregarding the fact there were others like them, Austin had three people will him their powers? Chase stared at him, his eyes widening. The first remnant of fear entered his consciousness. If that was true, this man was extremely powerful.

“So you see, I generally get what I want, Chase. I need you to say those words. Will it to me. Now.”

He made the demand lightly but it was thick with threat. Chase pushed the fear away. He didn't have time to be afraid. Maybe this was the price to pay for what he'd done to the Sons. He clenched his fists tightly and glared at Austin.

“No,” was all he said, but it seemed like the air in the room went still.


	4. His Mistake

Chase collapsed to the floor. He was bruised and bloodied from the beatings John and the other one, the name Carter he managed to hear, had given him. The smoking man disappeared some time ago and Austin seemed to be getting more and more impatient as he paced back and forth. He halted his pattern and turned toward Chase.

“I could make a deal with you,” he proposed, smiling.

He pushed himself onto his hands and knees, trying to stand. Carter planted a foot on his back and forced him on his stomach. Soon after the “convincing” began on Chase, he quickly learned both Austin and John had power like his own. Carter exhibited no such thing so Chase could only assume he didn't have any such ability. Austin knelt beside him and grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking his head up so that Chase was looking at him.

“A fair deal, I think. You will me the covenant and I will take control, but I shall expel you from the covenant with your powers still intact. You will be completely unaffected.”

Chase stared at him. He could see the pure lust for power gleaming in his eyes. It reminded him of how he once was, and it made him sick. 

“I don't think so.” 

All trace of a smile dropped from Austin's face. “I'm very sorry to hear that.” 

A yell came from outside and then more shouts. The sound of glass breaking and several thuds before all was quiet again. The door to the warehouse burst open and the Sons of Ipswich walked in, the girls close behind. He guessed the sounds from outside meant the sons had taken the guards out of commission. Chase was surprised. They had come for him even though there was no reason to. 

Austin glared at the guys with pure hatred and released his hold on Chase's hair as he stood up. His glare switched to John. 

“And just how exactly did they manage to find us?” he asked calmly, but it was clear he was anything but. 

John rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Ah, sorry, boss. They must've followed us.” 

Austin seemed outright astonished at his idiocy. “Evidently,” he uttered through clenched teeth. 

He turned to the Sons but spoke to his subordinates. “John, put up your force field! We are getting the covenant from the boy today.”

With his eyes blackening, Austin used his power to send Chase flying into the nearby wall. He held him there, back pressed against the wall. Austin stood in front of him, hand raised as he steadied his hold on Chase. He kept his distance to prevent the necklace weighing on his neck from stifling his power. This new position was not pleasant. 

The Sons rushed forward but they didn't get far before John stepped in their path, eyes black as night. A blue light emanated from his hand and suddenly some kind of wall made of energy formed, blocking the Sons access to come any closer. John was only a few feet from the group. The wall he raised barred them from getting to him either. The wall or force field was literally made of power. It was invisible and yet they could see it because the force field gave off a bluish tinge. His granted power. Chase could appreciate the coolness of the skill despite his present situation. 

Austin ignored his intruders and focused on Chase. “We could have done this the easy way.” 

He lifted the other hand and brought a wooden crate flying through the air toward him. The crate crashed to the floor at Austin's feet and the top flew off. Inside were random tools and at least a dozen nails, each maybe eight inches long and an inch thick. 

“You call beating me into a bloody pulp the easy way?” Chase inquired, tone disbelieving.

The corner of Austin's mouth curved into a sneer. “I call it amateur work. I underestimated what a kid like you could sustain. I won't make that mistake again.”

The one hand was still held in the air, keeping Chase pinned against the wall. With that hand, he flicked it and Chase's left arm slid up the wall, outstretched. He proceeded to use his free hand to make a nail rise out of the box. Chase looked from the nail, to his outstretched hand, then back again. 

“Oh shit,” Chase managed to say before Austin sent the steel nail driving into his hand. 

“Gah!” Chase cried out from the sudden and intense agony. 

The cry attracted the attention of the people who came to save him. Caleb appeared to be absorbing the situation and Chase's hand impaled by the nail, blood dripping down the wall. He threw a shock wave of power at the force field. It crackled as it met the other warlock's power but did little else. The Sons caught on and they all began sending their power against the wall, trying to break it down. Slowly but surely they could see progress was being made. It was beginning to wear down. Chase felt something like hope. 

Austin raised a second nail out of the box. It hovered above his hand and he watched him struggle to free himself from the wall. There was no way Chase could and that was without the nail issue. His power was too great for any of them and he was hell-bent on persuading. 

“You have such potential, Chase. Why can't you see it? Think of how great you could be joining my side. With enough power, we could bring this world to its knees!”

Chase managed a laugh. “Ah. Finally the sugar coating melts away and we see the real you. It was good of you to admit it. Typical bad guy trying to go out and rule the world. You're pathetic. I thought I was terribly unoriginal but you- Aaah!” 

He screamed as a nail drove into his right shoulder. The pain was unbearable but he swallowed hard and met Austin's eyes. His eyes were that of determination, sending a message he would never give in. Austin just couldn't understand it, Chase could tell by the visible exasperation on his face and in his voice. 

“Why?” 

There was a yearning to know what was going on in his head. It would seem Austin did not appreciate being confused, for his tone quickly changed to anger.

“Why do you suffer for people who care nothing for you?”

Chase gave a pained cry as a third nail drove into the arm that already had a nail deep in his hand. Two more nails slammed into his upper legs. He was in so much torment that all he could manage was a sharp intake of breath. Blood burst from the fresh wounds and he was soaking in the crimson liquid. As the Sons bombarded the force field, it began to waver. Against all four of their powers, it wouldn't last. 

“Boss! This shield isn't gonna hold much longer!” John shouted to Austin. 

He started using both hands to keep the divide up, trembling while struggling to maintain his hold on it. The Sons continued their assault on the wall. Carter stood next to him, fists clenched as he waited for the imminent fight. 

The girls were watching Chase's agony as Austin tortured him and Sarah yelled, “Caleb, hurry!” 

Austin spun around and started hollering at John to keep the shield up and used a few rather vulgar phrases along with it. The power that Austin had used to hold Chase to the wall faded as soon as he refrained from concentrating. Chase took advantage of the distraction. His mind raced with thoughts, searching for some idea of how to get out of this predicament. He kept thinking about the power. Then the thing that could stop it came to him. 

He had one hand free and he started working on the loop of the necklace around his neck. He felt it come loose and let it fall into his hand. Chase dropped his hand to his side as Austin turned toward him. The man took a moment to breathe deeply and regain calm. His attention returned to his helpless victim. 

“Explain it to me, Chase,” Austin said, walking up to him. 

He pulled the nail from his shoulder. Chase moaned in pain. Austin let the nail fall to the floor and placed his hand on one of the nails in his arm. “Explain to me why you are doing this.”

“Gaahhh!” John's voice rang out and he went flying across the room.

The Sons' power broke through the wall and one of their shots hit him head on. Carter watched John fly past him and fall to a crumpled heap. He went for his gun as the teenagers advanced. His weapon was no match for their combined magic. A surge from Reid sent the non-magic guy through the air and he hit the opposite wall hard with a sickening crunch. Austin tightened his grip on the nail in Chase's arm and his gaze roved over them. 

“Come closer. I dare you.” He yanked the nail from Chase's arm. 

While he was wincing and clamping down on his lip to avoid a cry, he caught sight of Sarah wincing. The Sons' eyes faded to regular color. If they tried to attack their power might hit him as well. Austin moved on to his hand and pulled that nail out. Chase started to slump to the floor now that nothing was pinning him to the wall. Austin grabbed hold of his jacket collar. He pinned him to the wall and screamed at him.

“Why are you so foolish? Look at them. I said look!” He gripped Chase by the chin and forced his head toward the group who stood a few yards away. “These people tried to kill you. They would not shed a tear if you died. Why do you suffer so they can live? They care nothing for you!”

He was forced to stare in their direction and his eyes met Caleb's. He could detect concern in them. Caleb was worried about his well-being. He couldn't understand why. 

“I harmed them first. Caleb was only defending himself when he almost killed me. I don't hold any grudges against them. They have every right to hate me. But here they are, trying to save me.”

Austin's grip had loosened on his face and Chase turned his head back to look at him.

“You ask me why I suffer so they can live? I do it because they deserve to live. They deserve to live more than you, more than me.” 

Austin's reply to this was a sharp tug that pulled one of the nails from Chase's upper leg. He gasped in pain, it hurting enough he was breathless. Austin held onto the nail, grasping it tight in his hand. 

“I give you this last chance. Join me. You could do great things with me. Here you are just some kid who means nothing to anyone.”

“The power... It ages you. I stopped being a kid a long time ago. So have they.”

Austin slammed Chase into the wall once, then again, his head falling back and bashing into the wall each time. Blood continued to run from his multiple wounds and he was beginning to feel faint. As Austin was beating him against the wall, Chase leaned on him at one point and let the necklace drop inside the man's coat pocket before getting slammed into the wall again. Austin finally let go and somehow he managed to stay on his feet. He had to hold the wall with a hand because of the weak state he was in. 

“That's not a no,” the jerk acknowledged. His voice sounded smug, like he sensed victory. 

“You're right, Austin,” Chase said.

He could imagine what the guys were thinking watching this. Hearts sinking, disappoint and shock growing. Chase was going to side with this Austin guy after all. That's what they were thinking. Caleb was probably telling himself someone as bad as him could never change. That he shouldn't bother seeing the good in everybody and end up in trouble. Chase wouldn't let him or any of them down. 

“You're right,” he continued. His head was lowered and his face hidden from view. Sometimes he had a thing for dramatics. “They will never accept me as one of them. I've ruined any chance of having a normal life with them by my actions. Life would be easier if I just willed you the power of the covenant and joined you in whatever endeavor you seem so keen on doing. It would be so easy.”

Austin smiled. “That's right. With me, things will be much easier. Go on, Chase. Will me the power of the covenant. Go ahead.”

Chase stayed silent while Pogue shouted curses. “Chase, you unbelievable asshole! You son of a bitch!”

Austin ignored them, his attention solely on Chase. “Go on. Do it. I...”

“Chase, don't!” Kate shouted. 

He didn't look in her direction. “I...” he trailed off and Austin inclined his head nearer in case Chase was whispering it. He was not. 

“Say it. I..will...” he urged.

Chase uttered, “I...” He lifted his head up and met Austin's gaze. “I..think you should go to hell.”

Massive relief flooded through Caleb and the others visibly when they realized he wasn't going to do it. That relief was short-lived as Austin reacted. He grabbed Chase's jacket, his expression one of cold hatred.

“Undoubtedly that's where I will be going. But you first.” Austin plunged the nail into Chase's stomach and pulled it back out, releasing his grip on him. 

Chase stood for a moment bent over, clutching his stomach as blood gushed from the wound. He contorted his face in pain and disbelief. Well crap. Kate screamed and Sarah let out a loud gasp, her hands against her mouth. The Sons stared in horror as he stumbled backward. When he hit the wall he slid down, leaving a smear of gore behind. He fell face down into a pool of his own blood and went still. Crap. 

“You bastard!” Kate screeched in anguish. 

She tried to run at Austin, wanting to hurt him. Pogue stepped in front of her and she fell into his arms sobbing.

“He killed him. He killed him.” 

“You'll pay for that,” Caleb informed Austin and he advanced on him. 

Reid and Tyler were close behind. Their eyes began to blacken as they prepared to attack. Austin grinned and turned to face them. John was regaining consciousness and this only made Austin's smile widen. He let the nail soaked in Chase's blood fall to the ground and walked a few steps toward the Sons. John grunted as he climbed to his feet and walked over to stand slightly behind Austin. Chase fought to keep his eyes open witnessing all of this. Nobody seemed aware he wasn't out. 

“Let me, boss,” John murmured. 

He swayed slightly from side to side, anticipating the fight. Austin tilted his head to look at his ally. Apparently some sort of message had been conveyed between them because John raced toward them. Just then from outside, a half dozen men wearing suits and armed with guns came running in. Caleb shouted orders to keep anyone from panicking.

“Pogue, protect Kate and Sarah! Reid and Tyler, take care of the guys in suits! I've got superpower boy here.” 

John heard Caleb call him this as he ran forward and a grin broke out across his face. He was nearly upon him now and his eyes clouded into blackness. 

“Oh you like that, huh?” Caleb commented. “How about this?” 

He sent a ball of power shooting toward him. John dodged it and reached Caleb. He placed a hand to Caleb's chest and sent a surge of power into his body. Caleb fell back but was quick to retaliate with another attack and this exchange went on back and forth. Meanwhile two guys in suits approached Pogue and the girls armed with semi-automatic machine guns. Chase found that worrisome. The two suits opened fire and Pogue lifted a hand and raised a shield. It was in no way as big as the one John created and it wasn't going to hold for long. 

“Reid!” Pogue called out. 

Reid was blasting a man into a wall when he heard his name. Glancing around, his ears quickly took in the semi-automatic machine gun clatter and Pogue's distress. Not noticing him in time, they didn't stand a chance. He sent a wave of energy flowing through the air at rapid speed which knocked both men to the ground, unconscious. 

Pogue lowered his shield and went back on the watch for any new dangers. Reid turned to the remaining four suits that Tyler was fighting. He had to continuously raise a shield to fend off the bullets but every now and then he got in an attack, knocking one of them out of commission. When Reid joined the fight, the armed guys started to lose large. Their attacks became more desperate and sporadic. 

John was cocky and thought he had a sure win. Chase knew this was his downfall from the beginning. His opponent's overconfidence reminded him of himself when he fought Caleb. Frowning at Caleb waiting to attack, lost in his thoughts perhaps, he suddenly recalled the battle he was in. The delay caused him to charge longer than he planned and as he sent it hurtling at John, he barely got out of the way. The energy slammed into the far wall, leaving a huge gaping crater in it. John looked at the gouge in the wall and then back at Caleb. 

“Whoa, angry are we?” 

“Shut up!” Caleb shouted and sent energy at him, jumping out of the way as the guy counterattacked. 

“Finish this, John. Quit playing with him!” Austin shouted in annoyance.

John glanced his boss's way, Chase's way, and froze. Caleb halted his movements as well and tracked his opponent's stare. He thought of rising. 

The last of the suits fell. Reid and Tyler gave each other a high-five, congratulating each other as Pogue and the girls came over to them. They all noticed the sudden hush that had fallen in the room and turned around to find out what was happening. Right. He should move now. He struggled to stand. 

“Do you know what your mistake is?” Chase asked. 

He was breathing labored, unfortunately, one hand clutching the wound in his stomach. His body was drenched in blood. The right side of his face was covered in it from when he had fallen in a puddle of liquid red. He took a strained step closer to Austin. His left arm hung limply at his side and he dragged his left leg as he moved toward him. After the initial surprise wore off, Austin looked smug, still confident of his control. 

“I make no mistakes,” Austin retorted and raised his hand to send a surge of power into Chase. 

Nothing happened. 

“Wha- What?” Austin stammered in disbelief and tried again as Chase drew gradually closer. 

Again there was nothing. Chase motioned with his good arm and sent a nail from the ground across the room. It slammed into Austin's upper leg and he drew in a sharp intake of breath, clutching his wounded leg but refusing to yell. 

Panting from the pain, he asked, “How? How can you use when you wear the necklace?” 

Chase reached Austin, stopping about a foot or so away. Their eyes locked and he repeated, “Do you know what your mistake is?” 

Austin kept staring in disbelief, mind racing, and Chase saw the moment it clicked for him. He slowly lowered his gaze to his jacket. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the necklace. It did not hurt anymore because it already fully absorbed his power from him. He'd been too occupied to feel it affecting him in the first place. Even if he threw the necklace far, it would take several minutes for him to regain his power. As this cold, hard fact was realized, he just couldn't believe what happened. 

“My mistake..?” he managed to say. 

Chase leaned forward. “You underestimate the Sons of Ipswich.” 

With that, he struck Austin in the jaw with a perfect right hook. Impressive considering he really wanted to fall down and sleep for a while. The asshole spun and fell to the ground, out cold. Chase turned his gaze to John. The glare was intense. John put up his hands. 

“Heh. Uh... Surrender?” he asked sheepishly. 

“What a mess.” 

All eyes searched for the source of the voice. It was the smoking man. 

“I told Austin he was in over his head.” 

Chase started to sink to the ground. Caleb was nearest to him and hurried to catch him before he could fall. He put Chase's good arm over his shoulder so he could hold him up. With Caleb supporting him, the two headed to the others. 

“You think you can get away with this? Just knock down my boss and leave?”

The voice belonged to Carter. He was standing by the wall where he had been thrown and he moved toward Caleb and Chase. He was sporting a black eye and a hand held his ribs. He came for them and started ranting at the younger of the two. 

“This is all your fault,” Carter claimed, looking furiously at Caleb. “If you and your friends hadn't interfered then the covenant would be ours!”

“Gee, we're so sorry about that,” Reid sarcastically remarked. 

Carter didn't even seem to hear him. He saw only Caleb. “It's your fault. All your fault.” He was mere yards away when he added, “ I have to fix it.” 

There was a gun in his hand. They weren't sure if it had been there the entire time and they just hadn't seen it or what. But they didn't have time to think. All they had time to realize was that one of them was dead. There was no way the guy would miss at that close a range and Caleb didn't have a chance to use his power. Caleb closed his eyes in acceptance of the inevitable and Chase slipped in front of him. The gun went off. 

He opened his eyes after receiving the bullet he anticipated. It hurt, but not as bad as he thought. He was in a lot of pain already. His legs gave out and arms scooped him to prevent his fall. Caleb held him. What a weird thing to be real. 

Multiple shots went off. He craned his neck in the direction Caleb was facing. The smoking man had fired into Carter, who collapsed to the floor, blood expanding. Blank eyes at the ceiling. 

“C-Caleb...” Chase gargled through the blood filling his mouth. 

“Don't talk, Chase,” Caleb told him in a soothing tone. “Save your strength.”

“Don't think better of me. I was dead either way. That guy just shot a corpse is all,” he gasped out through strained breathing.

“Don't say things like that, Chase!” Kate exclaimed. “Pogue can heal you.”

At those words, Pogue remembered his ability and rushed to kneel beside Chase's dying form. He placed a hand on the gaping wound in his chest and the other hand felt around until he found the bullet wound. These were the injuries stealing Chase's life away and so needed to be healed straight away. Healing, huh. 

“Chase, hold on,” Caleb told him softly. 

But he couldn't hold onto the words. His eyes rolled in his skull, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth.

“Chase..?” Sarah said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

“Chase?” Caleb echoed. “Chase!”

He was drifting away. Speech seemed impossible. Thoughts...


	5. Digging Into the Past

_Three days later... Thursday 9:38 a.m._

“He's awake!” Kate shrieked, running out of one of the guest bedrooms in Caleb's enormous house.

Pogue trailed slightly behind his girlfriend looking calm about this new development but smiling at how happy she was at the moment. Reid poked his head out of one of the rooms farther down the hall.

“Say what?”

“What's going on?” Tyler questioned as he exited the bathroom across from the room Reid had his head poking out of.

“Hey, guys, what's everyone shouting about up there?” Caleb called out from the base of the stairs, staring up to where Pogue could be seen near the banister.

Sarah came to stand beside Caleb and followed his gaze upward with matching curiosity.

“Chase is awake,” Pogue explained before going with Kate into the guest bedroom he was in.

The fifth Son was getting dressed in his torn and bloodied clothes when the girls and other Sons arrived in the bedroom. He didn't look up when he heard them enter and instead put his green jacket on.

“Going somewhere, Chase?” Caleb asked, a tad more unfriendly than he meant it to come out.

Fully dressed now, he turned his eyes onto the group of six assembled in front of the door he needed to leave from. “Yeah, I'm getting out of here.”

“Why? Where are you going?” Kate asked, growing upset. “You've only just healed.”

“I came and warned the Sons of Ipswich. I did what I came to do. Now I'll get myself out of your lives. Austin was right about one thing. We're not friends. We never really were. I'm not wanted here so I'll go.”

The doorbell rang but Caleb and the others hardly paid it attention.

“So that's it?” Caleb asked. “We save your life and you're just gonna leave without any explanation about why these people wanted to kill you so bad? Heck, they seemed pretty okay with seeing all of us dead.”

“You saved my life and I saved all of yours. We're even.”

“Even? Are we forgetting when you tried to kill me?! And nearly killed Pogue and Kate on top of it!” Caleb retorted with growing anger.

/

Chase paled considerably at the mention of what he'd done only a little over two months earlier. He especially remembered the student he killed, Christian Baron, when the guy discovered Chase's powers. He had no choice but to kill him because otherwise his entire plan against the Sons would have been ruined at the very beginning. It made him a murderer. He sucked.

The doorbell rang again but it was as though no one even heard it.

“I'm sorry about that,” Chase murmured and pushed past the group and out of the bedroom.

He wasn't familiar with the house but fortunately the stairs leading to the foyer and the front door was right next to the room he inhabited the past three days. Kate filled him in on how long he was asleep and what happened while he was unconscious. Pogue had called the police without leaving his name. The group of six, with Chase in tow, hightailed it out of the warehouse to Caleb's home. Later they'd learned someone set fire to the warehouse and it was completely engulfed in flames by the time the cops arrived. The inferno destroyed the building and any evidence that may have been inside. No bodies were found.

The police were calling it a possible case of arson but had no further leads. This was the second incident of arson in two months. The first incident occurred with the burning of the old Putnam barn. In other words, there was no sign of Austin or the smoking man and the police didn't have ideas on what actually happened in the warehouse. The Sons planned to keep it that way.

Chase could hear the others following him down the stairs and Kate was in the lead. “Chase! Chase, wait! Please!”

Although it was difficult because Kate had truly been a good friend to him, he forced himself to ignore her and yanked open the front door to the manor. Chase froze as soon as he did because a young woman his age was standing there with her hand raised to ring the doorbell for a third time. Light brown hair cut just above her shoulders and blue eyes. She was wearing black jeans, a nice red shirt, and a black jean jacket to match her pants. Lowering her hand, she flipped out a small notebook and a pen without looking up.

“Caleb Danvers..?” the girl started and her eyes moved up to look at him. She screeched. “Chase! Chase Collins, as I live and breathe!”

“Trish..? Oomph!” Chase grunted as the girl barreled into him with a great bear hug.

The Sons and girls arrived in the foyer near the door to witness the screech and firm hug. She took in his bloody and torn clothing as she stepped back.

“What happened to you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I'm fine. It was just a..uh, animal that got injured. I tried to help it and got blood on me and stuff,” he muttered his lame excuse.

She didn't seem to believe him one bit but ignored that he was lying and instead chose to give him a solid punch on the arm. “Why did you leave like that?!”

“Uh, who do we have here?” Caleb asked.

Reid noticed the girl at the door as well as the others and flashed her a smile. “Yeah, who is this beautiful gal?”

The girl placed her hands on her hips and glared. “Not interested.” She tilted her head toward Caleb. “I'm Trisha Burns, writer for the local newspaper in Haversfield.”

“Well, Chase?” she prodded, turning back to him. “Why'd you leave like that? Without a word to anyone and you were gone for months!”

“Trish...” he began but let his voice fade at her words.

“You broke her heart, you know. But I suppose that's what you were always good at. Breaking hearts. She of all people didn't deserve that and you know it.”

After a moment of silence, he said, “I did a lot of things I never should have done. But leaving was something I had to do. You couldn't possibly understand and I don't need you to. How did you find me anyway?”

Trisha lowered her notebook and pen before answering. “Doris is worried about you. She hasn't heard anything from you for two months. You have people back home who miss you. Why can't you ever seem to remember that?”

“Look, I gotta get out of here. You got a car? 'Cause I need a ride.”

“Yeah, the silver one's mine, but Chase...”

He walked past her out of the house and over to a silver car parked on the driveway. He got into the passenger side of the car and sat there staring straight ahead, waiting for Trisha to drive him away. His old friend gazed toward the car window looking deeply sad while lowering her notebook and pen. He waited and she soon joined him to get him out of there.

/

_10:05 a.m. Gordon residence_

“So this is where you've been living all this time...”

“Trish, come on, don't start with me,” Chase pleaded quietly, staring out the window of the parked car at the two-story house before him.

“I'm not starting anything, Chase. To start something, you have to be willing to participate in the conversation too. Since you're most definitely a man of many secrets, that won't be happening anytime soon, will it?”

He said nothing, choosing to open the car door and step out. Chase could tell she was upset with him but was not interested in getting into a serious conversation with her. When Trisha turned off the engine and got out on her own side, he stared.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean what am I doing? I'm going to see who you've been living with all this time. Besides, I still have a story to uncover in Ipswich, and until I do I'm going to need a place to stay. Maybe I can stay here with you?” When she saw the exasperated look crossing his features, she said, “Just until I find my story. Then I can go back to Haversfield.”

He wanted to argue. Tell her he'd left Haversfield to get away from everything, to keep his old friends safe. Chase wanted to explain she needed to stay away from him so she wouldn't get involved in his crap. He hadn't the heart to take the hopeful expression off of her face. They were good friends back in Haversfield and she didn't deserve to get thrown out of this place because he was uncomfortable having her there.

“What story has brought you out here to Ipswich?” he asked, instead of saying what he really thought he should.

Before she could answer, the front door of the yellow house burst open and two kids raced out. They headed straight for him and he hugged Jill and Kiri to him as they each latched onto a leg.

“Where have you been, Chase? It's been days and days!” the six-year-old exclaimed, pure joy at his presence was evident on her face as she grinned up at him.

“We thought you went away and weren't coming back,” Jill pouted. “Why did you go away, Chase? Don't you like us anymore?”

“Oh Jill... Girls...” He got down on one knee so he could be on their level. “I didn't mean to make you sad. Of course I wouldn't leave you two. You're much too cute for that.”

Kiri giggled, clearly instantly forgiving him. Jill was not so ready to forgive. She gave him as stern a look as she could muster and crossed her arms on her chest.

“Why did you leave?”

Chase thought quickly and stood back up, gesturing to the surprised looking girl standing a few feet away from him and the girls.

“I left to bring someone here. I'd like you to meet Trisha Burns. Trisha is a good friend of mine from where I used to live.”

Both of the girls' eyes widened as they shifted their gazes to peer up at Trisha. She smiled at the children and held out a hand for them to shake it.

“You two can just call me Trish, okay?”

Jill smiled widely and attempted shaking the bigger girl's hand as professionally as a nine-year-old could. Kiri copied her sister, taking Trisha's hand too. It was obvious they were readily accepting this new person's arrival at their home. Chase suspected it might have something to do with him being back. He'd won the kids over again and they were welcoming to Trish. That was good. Of course, there was still the girls' parents to convince, and they were at the doorway now. He smiled at the man and woman. Time to lay on the charm.

/

_12:17 p.m. Haversfield. Former Collins Manor under the ownership of Doris Hannigan and Lionel James_

“Caleb, what do you think you'll find here?” his girlfriend questioned.

Yep. He had taken an interest in Chase Collins ever since the guy was discovered to be alive. Surprisingly it was Pogue, the one who seemed to hate Chase the most, who stepped in and answered her.

“Chase is one of the Sons, no matter what he did in the past. That alone is enough to get our attention. So we're going to try to figure out who this guy really is.”

“I just wanna find out this guy's deal,” Reid put in. “I mean, he pretends to be good but turns out to be an evil bastard, then comes back a couple months later and he's good? That doesn't fit.”

Kate placed her hands on her hips and smiled at the four guys. “About time someone listens to what I've been saying all along. Chase is really a good guy. He's as good as the rest of you and that stuff he did... I don't know why he did it either, but I do believe he's acting like the real Chase Collins now.”

Sarah frowned at her friend. “How can you be so sure?”

She shrugged. “I just am.”

“Well let's go then,” Reid piped up. “Don't got all day here.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

He led the way with Sarah next to him, and approached the large door of the massive estate that was even more grand than Caleb's house. This was the place Chase had grown up and where he'd lived until the day he decided to transfer to the school in Ipswich. Caleb rang the doorbell and a few moments later, the door was opened by an elderly man who stood tall as he regarded the six of them.

“Can I help you?” the man asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

“We're here about Chase Collins. Do you know him?”

“The young Mr. Collins doesn't live here anymore,” the old man told them. “He moved to Ipswich last I heard from the boy. Why? Is he alright? Did something happen to him?”

A woman's voice came from somewhere inside the house. “Lionel? Who is it?”

The person asking didn't bother to wait for his answer, coming to stand beside him in the open doorway. She was younger than the man by perhaps a decade. She had curly brown hair that was slightly graying pulled back in a bun, a meek sort of attitude about her, and kind eyes.

“Oh, so many. What brings you to this place?”

Caleb recalled hearing the girl that had come to his home. She mentioned the name of a woman who had been wondering about Chase.

“Excuse me, but are you Doris?”

The look on her face told him that he was correct in his assumption and visible hope filled her soft gaze. “Yes, yes I am. How do you know my name? Have you seen Chase? Is he okay? Do you know where he is?”

Caleb was taken aback by the concern these people had for Collins. In fact, he was beginning to feel downright uneasy. First the girl who'd shown up, Trisha, and then these two standing a couple feet away from him looking at him with anxiety evident in their expressions. After what happened between Chase and the Sons of Ipswich, Caleb hadn't thought of the other man as human. The events of late were causing him to remember Chase was a person too, and he had people who cared about him.

He'd apparently gotten lost in his thoughts because Tyler pushed past him and addressed the woman's concerns.

“Someone named Trisha mentioned your name when she was talking to Chase earlier today.”

Both people standing in the doorway relaxed.

“Thank God he's alright,” Doris breathed.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, he's okay. We're not sure where he went though. Um, how do you know Chase?”

“Oh, pardon me, introductions are in order for friends of Chase. I am the maid of the household, Doris Hannigan, and this is my co-worker and butler of the household, Lionel James. Please, come in, come in,” the woman said, appearing ashamed for not thinking of inviting them in sooner.

None of them bothered to correct her on the relationship she presumed they had with Chase, and followed her through the house to the sitting room. They sat down on either sofas or chairs while Doris went off to make them tea. Meanwhile, Lionel sat in a stiff chair by the unused fireplace and eyed each of them in turn. He was looking at them with suspicion again. It disappeared and concern appeared on his face.

“I am not so optimistic as Doris tends to be. What has Mr. Collins done? He didn't hurt anyone, did he?”

Caleb observed Kate and Sarah exchanging glances before Sarah spoke to the butler. “What makes you say that?”

He lifted his gaze in the direction Doris had gone to prepare the tea, settling his gaze on her. “Mr. Collins, or rather, the young Mr. Collins you are familiar with, was a very withdrawn child. I can only imagine the pent up hatred that must have grown inside of him all those years. He changed when he was..oh, thirteen, I believe. I'm not certain why. Perhaps he was tired of enduring.”

“Enduring? What do you mean?” Sarah questioned.

Lionel had everyone's complete attention but the man didn't get the chance to answer her. Doris came into the room and handed them each a cup of hot tea.

“So, did I miss anything?” the maid asked innocently.

From the confused and curious looks on their faces, she had her response. Gentle eyes hardened and she glowered at the man seated near the fireplace.

“And just what have you been telling them?”

“Nothing, Doris. I merely expressed curiosity about what Mr. Collins has been doing of late, nothing more.”

“You're a terrible liar, Lionel. You still believe he will turn out like those..those..monsters. Don't you? That's what you've been telling these people, haven't you? That Chase has gone and hurt someone, right? He wouldn't! Not my Chase!”

Pogue stood, never the one to like being left in the dark about matters. “Calm down! Now somebody needs to explain to us what's going on.”

Doris grew eerily silent and shook her head from side to side. After a long moment she said, “Chase wouldn't hurt anyone. Not even those who deserved it.”

“And what if we told you he had?” Tyler asked bluntly.

Caleb winced. He hadn't been planning on doing such a direct approach. He took a breath and waited for the explosion of defensive remarks from Doris. They never came. Instead she gave a deep sigh of resignation and sat down on the sofa with Tyler and Reid, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

“We always knew it was a possibility,” she admitted to them. “But someone like Chase would need a reason. And not a reason for himself. He was never one to be selfish. In fact, I thought he should have cared a little more for himself than he did...”

For a few seconds they thought she wasn't going to say anything more. However, she shifted her position on the couch and stared into Tyler's eyes. He squirmed a bit but remained rooted to the spot.

“I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Chase was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Collins when he was two years old.”

“We know he was adopted. And we know he killed his adoptive parents in a _supposed_ car accident when he was eighteen,” Tyler pointed out.

Again, Caleb winced at the youngest covenant member's statements. He was usually so quiet and yet here he was directing the interview with the maid and butler to get straight answers.

Doris and Lionel seemed genuinely surprised by Tyler's words and Lionel stared at him. “Murdered them? It was a freak car accident. Lightning struck their vehicle! You can't plan that!”

Tyler looked like he was going to say more and Caleb feared he would spill Chase had powers which could then trace back to them by connection, so he interceded.

“No, I suppose you couldn't. Now, before, you called someone monsters and that you didn't believe Chase turned out to be like them. Who did you mean?”

The butler was reluctant to say and he stood up. “I think you should leave. Mr. Collins's private life is not ours to divulge.”

With that he walked away only after he'd herded them all to the front door. Doris lingered by the doorway, however, when they stepped outside. She bit on her bottom lip.

“Chase is alright? He's in good health? Is he trying to be happy?” she asked them.

Caleb found it strange she would ask if Chase was “trying” to be happy, instead of simply asking if he was happy. He glanced over his shoulders at the Sons and the two girls.

“What happened in this house?” he asked, looking at the maid.

He knew they were all wondering the same thing. The way the former servants of the Collins's family had it written in their behavior and the way they seemed to be holding something back whenever they spoke. There was some dark secret in this household.

Doris stared hard at Caleb. “They never wanted him. Never.”

Speaking to them in a volume that was barely above a whisper, they had to listen closely to hear.

“They adopted him for their careers, so they would look good to everyone else. Everybody likes a family these days. The only love he ever got was from Lionel and myself and I swear to God, we tried our best to make him feel loved.”

Doris was crying now, silent tears tracking down a slightly wrinkled face. “What they did to that boy nearly every, single day... Well, it was enough to make me sick! I couldn't believe how he managed to grow into a decent young man despite all of it. Perhaps because the older he got, the less we would see him around the house. He always was a smart boy.”

She tried to rid her face of the tears and looked at them in turn. “If Chase has done something, there's a reason. Please, if you know where he is, look after him for me, would you?”

No one replied. They were confused and having even more questions now. It was Kate who eventually answered the distraught maid.

“We will, Doris. I promise we will.”


	6. Reasons

_Friday 1:03 p.m. Gordon residence_

Chase felt like he was back to being a kid again, keeping out of sight from the man and woman in a bad mood who would hurt him if they so much as saw him. There he was hiding in the guest bedroom the Gordons had given him when he first showed up at their doorstep in need of a place to shelter. Hiding for other reasons of course. He knew no one in this house would ever even think to lay a hand on him. Trisha was downstairs with the Gordons having lunch. He avoided the family meal by saying he had something to do. A total lie but he knew Emily would never let him miss a meal if all he said was that he wasn't hungry, which he wasn't. After everything happening lately, his mind was elsewhere.

His past seemed to be catching up with him at a startling rate. First he'd learned about an uncle he never knew existed and Trisha showed. The other teenager was born and raised in Haversfield. Chase remembered meeting her three years ago. Some guys at school thought it would be a good idea to start something with him and she stepped in, listing off interesting information which would be better left unknown by anyone else. That was the first inkling of suspicion he had of her possibly being a reporter or something. Trisha turned out to be a reporter for the school newspaper but she preferred to be called a journalist. It sounded more professional she'd always tell him with a smile. They'd been friends ever since.

His thoughts trailed back to the events in the bar and the warehouse. There had been so much pain. Chase couldn't recall experiencing agony like that. He was close to dead and the Sons saved him. Now he found himself wondering if it would have been better if they just let him die. What right did he have to live when innocent people were dying?

He wanted to belong his whole life. To feel like there were people who cared and could watch his back should he ever need it. He made a couple friends in high school such as Trish and Mark. Right before junior year began though, Mark's parents had separated and as a nasty divorce was in the works, Mark came to live with Chase and his..legal guardians for a while. When his “mother” smashed an empty bottle of liquor over his head after he refused to go out and get her more alcohol, Mark didn't understand why he wouldn't call the police on her. He'd snapped at his friend even as he laid bleeding on the floor, telling him he should stay out of things he didn't understand.

Because Mark didn't understand. His friend couldn't understand the desperate need to survive. There'd been an officer. Officer Schilles. The son of a bitch knew full well what was going on in that household and he did nothing. Worse yet, he made sure no one else responded to 911 calls. Told every officer he was a trouble-maker and lived to make his parents lives miserable. If only they'd known it was the other way around in reality.

Chase supposed he didn't help matters by appearing like the typical rebel teenager Officer Schilles made him out to be to everyone. It was his way to hide his pain, pretending to not give a damn what anyone else thought about him. He didn't know if he could have survived without his public facade. Mark moved out that same night. He ended up moving out of town to go live with his dad soon after, far away. So much for having friends.

There had still been Trisha with him at school. And of course, a special girl was with him too. He was more his real self around her than around anyone. Even more so than when he spent time with Trisha or Mark. _She_ brought out the best in him and he'd love her always for that. Chase regretted leaving her behind but he had to. Or he thought he had to. His father, his real father, had done a good job messing with his head. He truly believed going after the members of the covenant and acquiring their power in retaliation for turning their backs on his lineage was what he was supposed to do. It had begun to feel like the wrong thing to do as he got to know the Sons and Kate, even Sarah... But the more he used his power and the additional power his father willed to him not long after they'd met and talked, the more he liked it. He'd liked it a lot.

Chase formed a promise to himself. No using his power. Ever. The power was an addiction. It let him feel good, powerful. It let him feel like he was capable of anything. But he wasn't. Thinking like that could get him killed. It could get other people killed. He learned the lesson the hard way after fighting Caleb at that barn, using Sarah as a hostage, hurting Kate and Pogue...

He kicked the wall absently with a booted foot. He killed that kid... Christian Baron. There hadn't been a choice. The guy had seen him using his power. He was going to tell people about it. He had to stop him. He had no choice. That was what Chase kept telling himself anyway. He knew better about that too though. Murder was murder.

Chase turned his gaze upward, to the window and the afternoon sky outside. Never once had he entertained the possibility of the existence of God. He spent his childhood abused and terrified. When this power had first come upon him as a teenager, he had seen it as a curse, something else setting him apart from other people. People who got to live normal, safe lives. And so he'd mostly hated it. He never thought in a million years the day would arrive when he realized it was liking the power that was when things got really scary.

So now he vowed to never use. It was an addiction and he was forcing himself to go cold turkey. It was far from pleasant and he thought about using every single day. Each day awful because he couldn't just be happy or content. No, he had to think and bargain and deal with his own declining insanity. It was the least he deserved to have happen to him, this withdrawal and misery, after everything he did.

“Hey. Hey, you, big guy. God or whatever... I don't know. I'm no good at this. I've never done this before. Look, if you're there, I know I don't deserve the time of day from someone like you. But if you could just listen for a sec. That's all I'm asking for here,” Chase begged the unresponsive blue sky outside the window of his room. “If you could just..help me. Help me not to use. I want to so badly, god I do, but..I can't. If I use, I could lose control and people..people could get hurt. I won't let that happen again. So please, keep an eye on me, alright?"

He stared another few seconds and shook his head with a small laugh. “Ah, I can't do this.”

Chase climbed to his feet and tapped the window beside him with a closed fist. “Well okay then.”

“You talking to yourself?”

He spun to find Mr. Gordon standing in the doorway watching him. “Ah, no... Well..sorta,” Chase stammered.

“Relax, Chase. I'm not here to give you a hard time.”

“Oh..okay.”

“But you are having a hard time, aren't you, Chase?” Mr. Gordon said it knowingly, no doubt behind the words.

“Mr. Gordon. There isn't really anything-” he halted mid-sentence when the older man raised a hand up to motion for him to stop talking.

“It's Frank. You don't need to lie. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. When I offered you a home, I meant it. You may stay as long as you need. I ask only one thing.”

The husband and father of two waited until Chase met and held his gaze before finishing what he had to say. “Whatever is going on that has you looking so exhausted, whatever kept you away for three days, I don't need to know any of that. You keep your troubles far away from my family though, are we clear?”

“Yes, of course,” Chase immediately agreed. “I would never let anything happen to you or your family. Never.”

Frank looked at him for a moment, taking stock of his appearance once again perhaps. “You're a good kid, Chase. You are.”

The words surprised him. He hadn't expected to hear that from Mr. Gordon. The surprise must have shown on his face because the other man chuckled. “That wasn't meant to be shocking.”

“Oh, right...”

With a sigh, Frank backed into the hallway still smiling. “Your friend seems like a good kid too. She's not in any trouble, is she?”

“What, Trisha? Nah, not her. She's level-headed..well, mostly.”

The two smiled at one another and Mr. Gordon jerked his thumb randomly over his shoulder. “Are you coming down to eat something? You look like you could use food in you.”

“I'll eat, but later. I think I'll take a walk.”

He appeared as if he wanted to say something about that. He didn't. “Alright, well, the girls adore your friend so I'm sure the three will be fine for a time with your absence.” He started to go, only to pause and look back. “Oh, but, Chase, let's not make it a three day hike, okay?”

Chase had to laugh. He wished he had Mr. Gordon for a father.

/

_Friday 2:17 p.m._

He didn't know why, but his mind was on his recently deceased father. Caleb never liked the man much. He had had many bad habits. His father was selfish and greedy. A narcissistic bastard who liked to be in command at all times. The man welcomed the power that came in his line of ancestors with open arms. He used his magic on a regular basis and never for anything that could be considered good. His father paid for his addiction to the power by aging far faster than was natural. When the man was buried, he appeared more likely be Caleb's great-grandfather rather than his father. At the funeral, it was Caleb and his mom. There was no one else who cared to say goodbye to a man who only ever cared for himself. Even still, Caleb's mother shed many tears when the casket was lowered into the ground. He understood why. His father had been the habit his mother just couldn't shake.

Habits were a funny thing. Sometimes they could be perfectly harmless. Tying knots a certain way or taking the same path home no matter the other paths that could be taken. Those things wouldn't harm anyone. Then there were those things that did harm. Times when habits could be perfectly deadly.

Caleb thought there were two roads in life to choose from. The right one and the wrong one. Good or bad. For him, he had always seen things in black or white. Then _he_ came along, walking into Caleb's life, not once but twice, making him realize there were possible gray areas among the black and white. His father had clearly been on the wrong road his entire life until that one last deed of willing his beloved power to his son, which ended his own life and saved Caleb from probable death. But when considering Chase Collins, everything seemed to get complicated.

That whole gray area came into being whenever Caleb's thoughts mulled over the fifth Son of Ipswich. Good, bad, good. He supposed it did make sense a person could be both good and bad. Surely one dominated over the other though, right? With his own father the bad won out over good nearly every time. Addiction to the power had done him in at a young age. It was the way Chase Collins was going.

When he fought Chase at the Putnam barn, he'd easily seen it. The pleasure the other man had taken in using his power, using it to do violence against Caleb. He loved the strength and sheer force that came with having magical power, there was little doubt about that. What wasn't so clear to Caleb... The question he still needed answered... It concerned the concept of there being good and bad in people. Which one dominated Chase?

A sharp elbow digging into his ribs snapped him out of his thoughts. Reid reverted his attention back to the front of the classroom, his mission seemingly accomplished. What mission that was became abundantly evident when Caleb searched the room and sought the location of the instructor. The instructor who had halted the entire lecture in order to fix what could be considered a death glare, onto him.

“I asked if you found history interesting, Mr. Danvers?”

His response was to blink once.

“Well, Mr. Danvers? Do you?”

He didn't have to look to know Pogue and Tyler were eyeing him from their respective seats around the room. Tyler was a tad concerned and worried but otherwise unreadable and quiet. Pogue, on the other hand, was likely attempting to keep his grin from getting noticed by anyone else with a hand blocking his mouth. Usually he would go ahead and tell the teacher what he wanted to hear. But after what happened with Chase, visiting the man's home where he was raised, Caleb couldn't bring himself to think about anything else. He couldn't get himself to care about anything else either. He couldn't go on with his daily life when he knew someone could be in trouble. It wasn't the kind of person he was. He looked at the teacher.

“Depends on whose history it is,” he told the instructor. The answer was honest, even if it wasn't what the teacher meant by his question.

“Excuse me?” The glare became genuine frustration at his student's response he hadn't anticipated hearing.

Caleb met his teacher's stare. “Is there a problem with your hearing?”

“Caleb!” Reid hissed out of the corner of his mouth. “Shut up, man. What are you doing?”

He paid his friend no attention as he continued to meet the gaze of the older man looking at him. “I think the problem lies with you, young man! I think-”

He interrupted. Caleb was in no mood to be reprimanded. “I don't really care what you think. There's something I've got to do so I'm out of here.”

As he began to gather his books and things, Reid gaped at him open-mouthed. Tyler and Pogue were probably having the same reaction but he couldn't bring himself to care. It didn't matter the entire class including his teacher and friends thought he was experiencing temporary insanity. Instead he focused on what mattered to him. He had to find Chase because his curiosity and constant concern for everyone around him was getting the better of him. According to the people who had known Chase Collins his entire life, the ones who essentially raised him since he was two years old in place of his adoptive parents, the guy would need a reason to do the things he had done. Something must have happened to make Chase do what he had, to go out and target Caleb and the other Sons.

After he finished shoving his books in his bag, he slung the strap over his shoulder and left, ignoring the instructor was still talking at him. It didn't take long to pick up on three sets of footsteps trailing behind him down the hallway. When he turned the second corner from the classroom, he waited for them to catch up. When they did they looked just as he suspected them to be looking, confused and worried.

“Caleb, what was that?” Pogue demanded, getting right in his face.

He controlled himself though, and backed off to give Caleb some space.

“I had other things on my mind.”

“No kidding,” Reid muttered, sarcasm evident in his voice.

“Wow,” murmured Tyler.

Caleb, Pogue, and Reid all turned to stare at Tyler with his unexpected comment, spoken in what could be described as awe and wonder. The youngest covenant member was staring in a very different direction, over Caleb's shoulder. They followed his gaze to see what the fuss was about.

“Wow is right...” Reid said to the others quietly as the object of fascination was drawing closer.

It was a girl. She appeared around the same age as they were and she was gorgeous. The girl had long, wavy brown hair cascading past her shoulders and down her back. Her dark brown eyes somehow seemed to shine bright. She had smooth, slightly pale skin. Her gaze was one of someone lost and when roving eyes landed on the four standing in the hall, she looked relieved.

“Oh, hi. Glad I finally ran into somebody. Could you help me?”

Reid managed to get to her in record time and he gave her a broad smile. Caleb rolled his eyes but had to admit, the guy was smooth when it came to the ladies. Heck, he'd even heard of the man grabbing the attention of other guys on several occasions.

“We'd be glad to help you out, beautiful. What seems to be the problem?

She looked him up and down, unimpressed. “You say that to all the ladies.” Her tone was knowing, not questioning.

“Only the ones as amazing as you,” Reid told her, grinning.

Now would have been the perfect time for Caleb to slap his own head in exasperation. Better yet, now would be the time to slap his ever horny friend on the head. The woman could hold her own, however.

“Wow, yeah?” she exclaimed, sounding pleased at Reid's words to her. She leaned in real close to him, her hair practically brushing against his cheek as she murmured low into his ear. It was a murmur loud enough for everyone to hear exactly what she was saying.

“Well, we shouldn't waste any more time then. Let's have sex right now.”

He pulled back, eyes wide, and she laughed, smiling. “Yeah..that's what I thought. No idea about real women.” She turned to Caleb and the others with her amused smile still in place. “So, is somebody going to actually help me out here or should I find someone with a little more self-respect?”

“Believe me, some of us are capable of thinking above the waist,” Tyler informed her, smiling too.

“Glad to hear it. My name is Selene Rogers. I'm looking for somebody. Last I heard, this is where he's been going to school.”

Caleb shook himself out of his continued thoughts of smacking respectable behavior into Reid through the use of brute force. He turned his attention to the woman. He had to admit, Reid was right about her being a pretty girl, no doubt about that.

“Selene, I'm Caleb. This is Pogue, Tyler, and you've already been acquainted with Reid.”

She laughed again. “Yes, yes I have.”

“You say you're looking for someone?” Pogue asked. “Where are you from?”

The question was unexpected for her but she answered regardless. “Haversfield. Why?”

They knew why Pogue asked then.

“You're looking for Chase Collins, aren't you?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Her smile became happier. “You know who he is. Do you know where he is?”

“I might,” Caleb replied. “Actually, we were on our way to go see him.”

Pogue frowned at him. “We were?”

He ignored his good friend and smiled politely at the woman waiting excitedly for whatever he had to say.

“Come on. We'll take you to him.”


	7. Welcome and Farewell

_Friday 3:45 p.m. Durnom. Varsity Club_

The Sons had to pick up speed in order to keep up with the girl they'd so recently met. They didn't know her at all but she seemed to have no difficulties speaking her mind to them whenever she felt like it. On the drive over to the club, she had plenty to say about how they should go faster and how she couldn't wait to see Chase. This really had Caleb reeling about the things he knew concerning him, and what he conceivably didn't.

Upon entering the place, Chase was easy to find as he was up on the stage doing his thing. The guy's voice was pretty good. Whether he was smart or stupid remained to be seen though. There were homicidal maniacs running about with clear intention of causing terrible harm to Chase, and yet he was front and center in a very public spot where those psychos found him once before.

Filing into the building and finding themselves a place to stand at the back of the crowd, they waited and looked on. Chase was performing a song for the fair-sized crowd in the middle of a weekday. A low profile was most certainly not at the forefront of the man's mind.

_“Fate, seems to recreate. I just cannot escape. Something holds me down and makes me act a way I can't explain. Even now I can feel it coming over me, choking me. As I'm falling behind, you can say you know me. But you have no clue what my dreams could show you.”_

The music throbbed and grew, nothing but the song. It had to be part of Chase's power immersing and blending into the song. What else could explain every single person focused entirely on the performance on stage?

_“Lies, as I try to stay clean. And I try to stay sober. This is taking me over. And my dreams complicate it. No... I just cannot let this go. No... I tried so many times to tell you. No... I just cannot let this go. I just cannot win. I see you...”_

Chase's gaze drifting through the faces in the crowd landed on Selene. His expression betrayed surprise seeing her. But he was talented, Caleb had to grant him that. He smoothly dropped the startled look into a solemn stare, finishing the song with his eyes glued to her the entire time. He was singing to her. Perhaps he'd been singing to her all along. Ah, the hopeless romantic he was.

_“I see you, you, falling away. I see you, you, you... Killing me softly. I see you, you, falling away. I see you, you, you...”_

Caleb wondered how Chase selected his songs. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to hit the guy for taking up too much of his thoughts and bringing up so many questions. Chase wasn't one to go around expressing himself freely and it was annoying when he wanted answers. This was the guy who pretended to be someone different for quite some time around him and his friends. This was the guy who tried to kill them one time, and saved them another...

The crowd began to break apart a bit as the show was over. Music from the sound system switched on to replace the void left behind with the club's obvious money-making talent leaving the stage. Caleb watched him move along the edge of the club, moving around the thick grouping of people closer to the center than anywhere else. Then he was near them at the bar, speaking to the bartender. The guy slid water over the counter to him after a moment. Caleb waited but Chase wasn't making any indication he would be coming to them or acknowledging their presence. He figured they would have to be the ones to approach.

He didn't seem happy to see them. He may have even looked angry they were there. Any anger or reluctance he might have been feeling quickly faded when Caleb moved aside to make room for Selene as she pushed through the four Sons. He watched as the two met one another's eyes once again. This time though, the obvious strong connection between Chase and Selene when she first walked in during his performance was missing. This time there was a distance, not in her eyes, but in his. Caleb could tell he was trying to hide it when he forced a polite smile.

The smile was one that would have fooled him and his friends in the past. The guy was great at displaying a disarming and charming smile on a whim. But that smile wouldn't fool him anymore. This time he knew to look in the eyes for the truth. And soon, he would perform the soul stare on him. If Chase agreed to it anyway. If the fifth Son chose not to accept the offer he was about to extend...

“Chase.” Selene appeared shy and nervous.

He looked down and away, then slowly back to her. “Hey.”

She slapped him across the face. He did nothing to try and stop her and in fact seemed to be thinking he deserved the hit. The next thing, she was wrapping her arms around him, holding tight. Well, there was a mind fuck.

“Why did you go? I don't understand why you would go anywhere without me,” she murmured into his cheek.

He copied her low tone with his reply. “There was something I had to do.”

It appeared to take effort to detach herself from Chase. “What? What was so important you would leave to another school, another town, and not say a word to anyone?”

“My father-”

Before he could get anything more than that out, Selene interrupted. “Your dad? Was it because your parents died that you had to leave your home?”

“They were _not_ my parents and that was _not_ home. You know how I felt about them, Selene.”

Caleb was spending these moments studying the pair of them. From what he'd learned during his brief visit to Haversfield, the Collins hadn't loved much, except appearances and wealth undoubtedly. He guessed Chase hadn't shared with his friend what must have been an awful childhood. If Doris was to be believed..which she probably was since she had no reason to lie.

“Well, I mean, sort of. You told me they weren't very nice... But they're your parents. They loved you and that has to count for something.”

“The people who adopted me felt many things toward me, and none of them came close to love.”

Selene drew in a sharp intake of breath. She was surprised, confused, uncertain. She glanced around at Reid and Tyler, Pogue and him, as if the words she desperately sought would be there. They didn't know a lot, but they knew enough that something wasn't right in his old house, and it showed on their faces now.

“I'm sorry, Chase. I didn't realize. You talk to me, you tell me things. But you never said anything about home. I'm so sorry. I should have known. I think, in a way, I did know. My parents always were saying how it was a shame you grew up in that house. I didn't realize. I'm such an idiot. I'm sor-”

Chase kissed her, brief but tender. He stepped away from her immediately following the kiss, clearing his throat and shuffling uncomfortably. Finally, his gaze settled on Caleb.

“You brought her here, because she tracked you down. She's persistent like that. But all of you here... What do you want?”

“What do I want? I want you to join the covenant.”

The protests and rapid demands as to what precisely he was thinking, were not unexpected in the least. The beginnings of an argument concerning the issue was made nonexistent when Chase answered, tone certain.

“No.”

This, too, was far from an unexpected response. Caleb fluidly went into his explanation without acknowledging he'd already been declined.

“I mean, technically just by being born you're a member. But join officially, and it's for real. We'll be connected completely. If one of us is in danger or hurt, all of us will feel it. We do this, we can also communicate across distances with our voices and images, put right into our minds.”

“Infinitely useful if that guy comes looking for any of us again,” Reid said, spoken as though the thought just occurred to him, which it probably had.

Tyler stared like his friend had grown a second head. “Wait, are you agreeing with accepting Chase into the covenant?”

“He better not be,” Pogue declared. “And you need to rethink this too, Caleb. We know nothing about this guy except that he went psycho and it wasn't that long ago.”

When Caleb didn't say anything, didn't bother looking at him, he apparently felt the need to elaborate. He sighed in his head when his good friend began to count on his fingers things he was aware of already. It was an improvement above direct yelling he supposed.

“He killed that guy at the party. He put a spell on Kate that put her up in the hospital. He put me in the hospital. He kidnapped Sarah. And let's not forget how close he came to killing you-”

“Shut up!” Caleb shouted in dismay.

He'd just noticed what Pogue's list was doing to Chase's friend. Someone who likely meant more to him than a simple friend if the kiss was anything to go by. They kept staring into one another's eyes to find the unspoken words. He knew what that could be like. It happened between him and Sarah often enough.

His words were too late. Selene burst into tears, audible crying for only a second before she was wiping the wet away. Clearing her throat to regain composure, she started shaking her head. This time, the words she had to say did surprise. They absolutely shocked him.

“It's the power. He can't help it sometimes. An addiction can be so seductive. Sometimes you find something that you need..and you can't let it go..because it comforts you. It builds you up, makes you strong and brave. It makes you better and you can't go back to what you were before.”

She was fingering a silver chain around her neck. It was a long chain and whatever was at the end he couldn't see, tucked beneath her shirt. Caleb wondered if it was really Chase she was talking about anymore.

The words entered his head to try and comfort Selene, perhaps to reassure himself as well. This girl needed some truth, some reality, and fast. Chase exposed his power to her, but said nothing about his past. This was something he could do for her to help with how much she was obviously reeling.

“The first time he came to Ipswich, he wronged us in a big way. No one is disputing that he did some terrible things. Things I will be the first to admit and say, have not been forgiven.”

He locked eyes with a shifting and nervous man who he couldn't help but see as a guy who was still just his age. They were eighteen, a far cry from becoming full blown adults in the minds of the majority out in the world. Which made it unbelievable what they'd all been through over the past months, or even over the past few days.

“But I also remember what he did to protect us, all of us, the second time he came to Ipswich.”

“I said no,” Chase insisted. “Do you think the place I want to be is with people who hate me?”

“Well you seem fine not being with the people who love you.”

If not for the low hum of the general club noise all around, they might have been able to hear a pin drop with the sudden silence that fell upon them.

“Selene...” Chase murmured. His eyes avoided hers, but she wasn't looking for his anyways.

“You know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me. Still, we're like this?”

Caleb was seriously beginning to wonder how he got himself and his friends a front row view of a relationship falling apart. This was not how he'd foreseen his Friday going. Find Chase, try and convince him to join their covenant. That had been the extent of his planning. And his friends tended to listen to him why?

“Selene. I left because I had to get out of that place and because my father asked me to help him. I didn't see it as a choice because it was my father. I was a stupid, angry kid and not the man I hope you will one day see.”

He said it all rapid fire like. Caleb suspected it was in fear of her not giving him the chance to say what he wanted to get out.

She stared at him, _his_ gaze still firmly rooted to the floor. Caleb had the guilty thought this was entrancing more than any television show he ever saw.

“You say that like you think we have all the time in the world.”

Sheesh. Beauty truly was devastating in this case. If this was a break up or a reaffirmation of an assumed break up months ago when Chase vanished from his hometown, Caleb didn't want him and his friends to be star witnesses of it. He ran a hand through his hair and loudly cleared his throat.

“Reconsider the offer, Chase. I promise even if we can't forgive you right now, we don't hate you.”

He felt Pogue's heated glare before seeing it, and didn't pay it any attention more than a brief flicker of his eyes. His focus was on the proposition he was to extend because it was the right thing to do. Chase was a Son of Ipswich. He could belong somewhere. It felt right.

“If you join, you have people to watch your back. You'll have not only friends, but brothers. The covenant is a family.”

“The catch?”

Ah, yes. Chase was a bright boy.

“There will need to be trust. I need to perform a soul search after the ritual that ties you to each of us.”

“Like I said, n-”

“You should join.”

Chase wasn't alone when his stunned gaze fell on Selene. Caleb was more and more impressed with this girl by the minute. He supposed “woman” would be a more apt term. It was obvious she was smart and mature, and could most definitely hold her own.

“Join, Chase. You shouldn't have to be alone.”

Now he was frowning at her. Caleb wondered if he was wondering whether there was a deeper meaning behind that sentence. He didn't get long to wonder.

“I should get going. I still have to get a room at the inn in Ipswich if I'm to stay.”

“You're staying there? In Ipswich I mean.”

She shrugged. “For tonight at least. Too late to drive back now. I hate the dark.”

Caleb was watching Chase's face. It appeared he wanted to say something, but then he seemed to remember his audience. It was like seeing a wall rise up. That was how good Chase was at pushing everything down, hiding everything inside. The soul search would take all of that away, Caleb realized. He hoped it would do him good, exposing everything, but it was also a real possibility there would be an adverse reaction.

When Selene walked out of the club, Chase leveled his gaze at each one of them in turn. He kept his gaze on Caleb when he got to him.

“Okay. I'll join. What else am I gonna do?”

Not exactly the picture perfect response he would have preferred to reassure the boys. It would do.

/

Outside the Flying Crow Inn, the only place for visitors to stay in the town of Ipswich, a motorcycle pulled up just after four in the afternoon. The driver parked in a space near the back of the small lot, removing his helmet and a hefty looking duffel bag. He carried both inside and got a room for himself, number of nights stay indeterminate. The man shared he was from Haversfield, and he was looking for a friend.


	8. What Dreams May Come

_Friday 4:40 p.m. Ipswich_

“Is this really such a good idea?”

“Yes.”

“I'm not sure it is.”

“Chase...” Caleb's voice was notably warning.

“Maybe we should hold off on the whole read into my soul thing and go for coffee. I'm feeling a bit light-headed and I could use some sugar.”

“Chase, you're not backing out of this. The rest of us just finished the ritual for accepting a new member. You're a member now, and as a member, there's the condition of the soul search we laid down. It hasn't even been an hour since we agreed to it.”

There was no room left for discussion. He knew it, but it didn't mean he wanted to accept it. He didn't want to dredge up his past, and he certainly didn't want the rest of the Sons of Ipswich to know.

The only reason Chase found himself in this damp stone basement, surrounded by four warlocks who'd been keen to be his enemies days earlier, was one woman. She wanted him to do this. More importantly, she wanted him to do this for himself. When Selene suggested or encouraged things, she meant it. For their age, she was incredibly wise.

“So... How does this soul search work exactly?”

He nervously glanced down at the circle drawn in chalk he'd been made to stand inside during the ritual. It was where he'd be for the duration of the soul search. Black dots appeared in his eyeballs and he swayed in place for a moment. He hadn't been kidding. He wasn't feeling so hot.

“When our gazes meet,” Caleb described, “I'll use my power to read your soul. Basically, the power will reveal to us images of the past that define your soul as it is now.”

Chase tore his gaze away from the chalk outline to look up. “Sounds complicated.”

“Hey, it's not fun for me either. It's a lot of strain to see and hold onto so many memories that aren't your own.”

“Then why do it?”

“Trust. We need to know everything about you as a member of our coven.”

It was Tyler who said that. He looked at the youngest member, the sole member yet to turn eighteen. Perhaps the only one who could possibly be swayed.

“What if you don't want to know everything about me?”

Now he'd earned the ire of Pogue and Reid, the pair of them glaring at his back from where they sat perched on separate rock formations. Another glance about this basement had him note how old it must be to have been constructed so deep beneath and within the earth. He just wasn't cut out for making friends.

“Damn it, Chase! You're doing this!”

“Come on, Caleb. Just do it.”

Caleb was shaking his head. “No. I need his express permission. I'm not going to go poking around his memories against his will.”

He held as still as possible to avoid flinching. How could he have done the things he'd done to this person? The guy who was seeking his say so for something he could take if he truly desired. A thing he could do and even defend by arguing it was only fair after everything Chase did to them. Well, shit.

His eyes took a final scan of the other Sons staring, and his gaze found Caleb. The Son stood directly in front of him. “Okay. Go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you.”

Now it was Caleb who hesitated. He shook off the uncertainty in the next beat though, and moved closer. Lifting a hand to Chase's shoulder to hold him in place, their gazes locked and Caleb's eyes blackened.

Chase wondered how this would work. Would he feel anything or would it sort of happen and be done in a matter of seconds? Maybe he'd be lucky and black out through the duration. It could be that the Sons saw it like a movie, but he didn't even see- Oh. A ghostly trickling sensation down his spine, an abrupt twist in his stomach, and then his whole head exploded into pure white.

_“Hey, rich boy, where'd you get the black eye this time?”_

_Oh great, a real genius decided to start talking to him. People generally knew to avoid Chase Collins. He was a loner, a punk who got into fights and skipped school. At the same time, he was popular because he had a lot of friends, won his fights, and could get any girl he wanted. The kid who was untouchable because his mom was practically a world-famous clothing designer, and his dad was a no-nonsense businessman who knew how to make a deal to earn millions. That was what the people of Haversfield saw, and apparently, this prep school dropout thought he'd start something with Chase today._

_“What do you want, Dale?”_

_He fought Dale just last week. Sent the guy home crying. He supposed a sophomore sending a senior home in tears was enough to earn the guy coming back to try and claim some dignity. Still, he was not in the mood._

_“Well? Where'd you get the colorful art, huh?”_

_Chase was not about to tell Dale Wenden that his “dad” managed to get his hands on him over the weekend. Beat him up and threw him down the stairs to the basement for the whole night. His so called mom let him out the following morning because she needed him to do laundry while Doris was away. Bitch._

_A finger poked him in the ribs, very bruised ribs, and he flinched and shifted away. He did his level best to ignore the dozen or so eyes already watching them. He was alerted to the fact a couple of Dale's friends were coming over to likely help their buddy enact revenge._

_A girl in red capris, a white blouse, and of all things, a black fedora hat atop her short brown hair appeared. She suddenly mushed herself in between him and the trio of jocks moving into his space._

_“Why, Travis Miller, that you?”_

_One of the seniors slowed his stroll and looked at the girl in confusion. “What?”_

_She leaned in toward the three. “And Freddy James, too. How perfect. Remember when you two thought you'd get off peeping on Brenda Gilbert in the showers after volleyball practice? Remember how she heard one of you and slipped? Hit her head and ended up with a pretty serious concussion. Tsk tsk. Wouldn't want anyone finding out that was because of you two, hm?”_

_“Who do you think you are-” Dale began but she went in for the kill, using him as the finish._

_“Dale Wenden. Where do I start? How about the prank with the varsity soccer coach that accidentally set his entire office on fire? Arson like that could potentially lead to some jail time, suspension for sure, and that's not even the only thing the police could get you on. You haven't forgotten-”_

_“Okay! Sheesh! Forget it, Collins. Come on, guys. Let's get out of here.”_

_Dale strode quickly off and his friends were happy to bumble after him in shock and concern. When the girl spun around to face him, he put up his hands in mock surrender._

_“Please, I'm unarmed.”_

_She laughed. “You're welcome for all that. Maybe you should try to stay out of trouble.”_

_“I'll consider it.”_

_She laughed again. “Well, nice to meet you..rich boy?”_

_He corrected. “Chase Collins.”_

_“Nice to meet you, Chase. Name's Trisha Burns, and you should probably know, I plan to be famous one day. I report the truth where I find it.”_

_“Well, Trisha, I plan to be alive one day.”_

_She smiled wide, thinking he was joking. “We all have to have dreams somehow.”_

There was hardly a transition between one memory to the next. The images just sort of blurred together, out of focus, until the colors separated to become more solid. A different place and time revealed.

_The music was loud, booming. Some terrible rap song that couldn't possibly be danced to. Yet people were dancing. Everyone seemed to be having such a great time. He wasn't even sure why he'd come. Trisha had to be there to take pictures for the school paper. She dragged him along so they could suffer together. Except she wasn't suffering much, flouncing about cheerfully while she tried to capture the best pictures to share how the night went. Meanwhile, he stood off to the side, hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants, feeling awkward and alone._

_“Hello!”_

_The greeting was shouted into his ear because of the music volume. He glanced at the person in his ear, thinking it might be Trish there to save him from this horrible event that was a school dance. Instead, he laid eyes on the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. And the beauty was smiling at him._

_“You wouldn't happen to be the Collins' kid, would you?”_

_“Who's asking?”_

_“Ha, you are. My parents warned me about you.”_

_He frowned, but a slight smile was growing on his face regardless. “Did they now? And they would be?”_

_“Rogers family. I'm Selene. Ask me to dance.”_

_“What?”_

_Chase was confused, nervous, and intrigued all at the same time. It was terrible and wonderful, and he contemplated if this might be what love was._

Things blurred and resolved into a setting much quieter. This time outside.

_“I dream and dream of getting out of this place, away from home, away to something new. Do you think things will get better? You know, life?”_

_“I know they will, because I have you to make it better.”_

_“Oh, Chase.”_

_Selene said it like she disagreed, but didn't know what else to say. She stared straight up at the stars in the sky. He shuffled upright partially and she glanced over. He wanted to be looking in her eyes when he did this. Her gaze lowered to his reaching hands and she gasped._

_“Chase!”_

_“Selene, I know we're still young, but when school is done... Maybe even in a year or two. I'd like you and me,” he stumbled and quickly self-corrected. “I want us to be forever.”_

_“We will be. Yes, Chase. Of course. Yes.”_

Everything mixed together but soon moved apart again, solidifying.

_There were a lot of people in black clothing. It was a relatively sunny day out, not many clouds in the sky. Everyone was milling about in a cemetery._

_“Where's Chase?”_

_“He didn't stay.”_

_“But this is his parents' funeral.”_

_“I know, Trisha. I don't know why he left. He seemed distracted, said he had to go.”_

_“I thought he'd tell you at least.”_

_Selene shrugged. “I think what he needs is to be alone.”_

_A young man maybe a few years older than them came over. “Did you hear about Chase?”_

_The women stared cautiously, Trisha asking, “What about him?”_

_“He's gone. Steve and Jake said they saw him drive out of town half an hour ago.”_

_“What? Where did he go, Jason?” Selene demanded._

_She looked worried, so did Trisha._

_“I don't know. I guess it looked like he'd packed some stuff. Could be gone for a while, could be gone for good.”_

_Selene stared at the ring on her finger. She stared at the promise. She stared and stared._

A whirlwind of images into a single solitary shape walking to the front door of an expansive home.

_As soon as he stepped through the door he knew something wasn't right. Nothing was ever right in the house, but tonight it felt different. Maybe he should have stepped out. Maybe he should have left and slept in a field nearby filled with the softest grass this time of year. He didn't leave though, and it would make all the difference._

_He descended the single step which separated the front foyer from the remainder of the house and headed for the kitchen. It was dark inside and he prayed that meant he was by himself. Chase wished he wasn't so hungry because then he could avoid this risk of entering public domain. He was starving, however, having not eaten all day. Besides, it was his birthday. Nobody should go hungry on their birthday._

_Entering the kitchen with soft steps and quiet breaths, he was relieved to find he was alone. He kept himself silent, every movement deliberate and drawn out. There was the chance they were in some other part of the ridiculously large house he was forced to call home. A sliver of light flooded the darkened room and for a second he hesitated, stilling his movements. Outside, rain began to patter against the window panes. Chase sighed and opened the fridge wide. He was being silly._

_He grabbed a can of cola off the shelf and popped the top, drinking deeply. Soda in this house was meant only as a refreshment to offer guests. Helen and Arthur's guests, not his. Screw it. They'd beat him if they noticed what he'd done. They'd beat him anyway. Screw it. He took another long drink before setting it on the counter behind him, focus on the contents of the fridge as he searched for a meal. That was when he was struck._

_Some guy he didn't know smashed a baseball bat into his shoulder. A friggin' baseball bat. It was wooden, but still hurt like hell. He reached to defend against the second blow when someone else came at him down low. This other man he didn't recognize barreled full force into his legs, causing his knees to give out upon impact. As he fell, he felt confusion, pain, fear. He didn't understand what was happening._

_Blows started to make contact on him. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't concentrate enough for self-defense. The two men were joined by a third, who joined in the savagery, and this one he did know. Arthur. He tried to say his name, ask why, but all that came out was a gurgle as blood leaked past his lips._

_It did stop, the attacks ceasing as abruptly as they'd begun. But he was far from relieved when a voice spoke through the dark. A light switched on and hands fell upon him, gripping painfully, lifting him up. He was thrown onto the dining table and turned on his stomach. He tried to roll to his front, wanting to see his attackers, even through the swelling and fluid obscuring his vision. The hands were insistent, keeping him in place._

_“Why?” his mind kept screaming through the steadily rising pain. “Why was this happening?”_

_A rough hand found purchase in his hair and wrenched his head back so he was looking straight ahead. Straight ahead was where Helen stood, staring at him with a mixture of uncertainty and regret clear as day on her face. It was the most caring expression he'd ever seen her look at him with, and now he was terrified. It was the look of someone who knew what was happening to him, and however indirectly or directly she may have caused this, she would not stop it. She felt it was beyond her grasp, that she couldn't do anything._

_“Help me!” he felt like screaming aloud. He could barely groan._

_Arthur's voice, gruff and spitting hate, spoke into his ear. “We know what you are. Helen saw you. You're a freak, just like we always suspected. You're a danger to this town. Me and the boys, Helen too, we're going to put you down. For the good of the town. 'Cause we know what you are... Freak.”_

_His hair released, his head smacked on the table and he felt the power surge. He didn't want to die. Chase could sense the end was near and reacted. He kicked the guy by his feet the moment his grasp became lax, hand reaching elsewhere to grab a stack of rope. The man cursed and Chase used the remainder of his physical strength to roll off the table and blast his power full force in the direction of the table. The magic incinerated the furniture and made skeletons of the two men who stood directly in the path of his blast._

_“Jesus,” his mind gasped. He hadn't imagined his power could do that to a chair, let alone the men he'd just killed. “Jesus.”_

_A heavy hand grabbed his shoulder and he was kicked in the face. He fell over onto his side, fresh blood running from his nose. Arthur. He'd missed Arthur. After being kicked several times in the legs, back, and side, he was turned to his stomach, arms dragged and tied behind him. Chase couldn't fight. He felt in his bones that he'd drained all the magic his body could conjure in its weakened state. White cloth was shoved in his mouth for a gag, affixed around his head with a knot._

_The people who signed a flimsy piece of paper with the weight of someone's world on it, were now conversing in urgent voices. Outside, a storm began to rage, almost as if to compete against the one which occurred inside the house. These people standing above promised to love and protect him. They'd sworn to make him feel comfortable, safe, loved. Now they were plotting how to destroy him._

_Apparently they decided to dispose of him elsewhere._

_“Far enough away they won't suspect,” murmured the woman who'd taken on the title of mother._

_Really what she meant was, far enough away so she wouldn't have to remember. He wasn't sure when he started to cry, but the sight froze Helen in her tracks as she was stooping to lift the upper half of his body for carrying. The silent tears kept her transfixed, breath stolen away by the child she witnessed grow into a young man._

_His eyes drifted to the calendar on the wall. Her gaze followed his without choice. When she dragged her eyes back to him, her face looked a thousand years older. Helen had recalled his birthday, and in that instant, she knew a part of her did love him. Her gaze broke from his and she would not look at him again, not once. She'd come too far in this evil thing to be redeemed. Chase watched the emotions and thoughts spelling across her face disappearing._

_Arthur barked something at her and she lifted him off the floor with a grunt of exertion. His hope died._

_Together they carried him outside and to Arthur's car. Rain soaked them within seconds but neither of them noticed. Their concentration was on the task at hand. Admirable, if the task wasn't to kill him._

_As he was shut away in the dark, cramped space of the car trunk, Chase wondered. The car started and moved away from the house. He wondered how they were going to cover his murder up. Perhaps claim he went to stay with relatives? No, they'd say he ran away. They'd tell everyone they have no idea why he would run off. That they'd loved him and did the best they could. But he was a teenager and they got funny ideas of independence and freedom in their heads sometimes. Eighteen was all grown up in the eyes of a high school student._

_The surge of power flooded through him and filled him so fast he barely had time to scream. It hurt and yet felt intoxicating at the same time. He could feel himself strengthening, every inch of him, but it was setting off every nerve ending in the process of moving rapidly through his body. Hence, the scream. The power filled him completely and then exploded outward in a chaotic whirl of raw energy._

_Wind and light within darkness became the physical manifestation and it wanted out. The wind started to cut through him painfully and he slammed his eyes shut only for them to rip open a second later to the sounds of metal being wrenched and warped. He was staring at the open road as the trunk lock broke free from its latch and he was hurtling out of the enclosed space. The energy burned through him, the wind rushed past, and then there was nothing but black._

Chase was brought back to himself with such speed he fell backward and hit the hard stone floor. He looked up to see Caleb stumbling away from him, clutching his head. His eyes were still black, still in the midst of the soul search he'd been performing.

“I-can't. I don't want to see any more.”

Anger began to churn Chase's stomach. He leaped to his feet and advanced on the guy.

“What are you doing? You wanted to see this.”

“It's enough. I'm done,” Caleb murmured.

He sounded like he was in pain. He glanced around the room at the other Sons. They seemed to be in near identical condition as Caleb. So they did feel everything along with seeing it all. Good. They should. They insisted on knowing everything about him and they would.

“You're not done, not yet.”

Taking a chance that it would work, he grabbed hold of Caleb's shoulders and locked eyes with him again.

_“You're really my father.”_

_Chase stood in front of a pale form of a man, frail and faint in appearance. A ghost._

_“I loved your mother, Chase. You have to get the covenant members to will you their power. You have to avenge our deaths, son. The covenant betrayed our family. They're a threat to the world and they owe you. You must do this. Whatever it takes.”_

He was shoved out of Caleb's trance hold. “No!”

But Chase was determined. “Almost to the beginning of our story, Caleb.”

He grabbed him and stared him down, quite literally, as Caleb sank to his knees.

_He had to get away. He had to get out. Stumbling out of the car, he dared not look back at the body he was leaving behind. Chase got as far as a row of bushes and then he was throwing up in them._

_Was what he was doing right? This was what his parents wanted for him? He was so confused. He knew he had to do this though. His parents needed him to because they were no longer alive to protect him, or anyone for that matter. He had to keep going. What was coming would require him to lose a conscience. His parents needed him. They loved him. They needed him to be strong. He'd be ready for what was coming._

_Chase staggered farther from the car and kept going. It was okay. It was okay. It had to be or else where did that leave him?_

This time when Caleb broke free from him, he didn't resist and let himself fall. He hit the ground with his back and felt it welcoming. He was exhausted but they'd seen it all. They couldn't call him a liar or accuse him of deceit. The Sons knew his past, how it made him what he was today. They knew his heart.

/

After acquiring a room at the front desk, Selene went to her room. For the early hour, she was feeling awfully tired. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, finding Chase. It was clear he hadn't wanted to be found though, which stung. All she kept thinking was how he lied to her. How could he not tell her what was going on at home? She'd changed her mind about him and wasn't going to leave him, and then he left.

As she slipped into her room, she never noticed the man watching her from farther down the hall, never noticed the knife he continuously traced a finger across while he stared.


	9. Starting Over

_Saturday 6:14 a.m. Ipswich_

To say he was tired would be a massive understatement. Glancing at the clock beside him told he'd slept for over twelve hours. He shut his eyes again. Funny how his body was telling him he hadn't gotten even half that. Wait, a clock? Last thing he recalled was dropping onto hard ground, a result of dredging up the memories that made up his nightmares all at once. He felt his hand clutch sheets. His eyes opened. He was in a bed, not his own at the Gordons' he'd become accustomed to over the past few months.

“You okay?”

When he heard the voice, he sat himself upright. The voice was definitely known to him but it was sounding a tad hoarse and strained. Caleb looked paler than usual, eyes puffy and rimmed red from either crying or a lack of sleep.

“Am I? Are you?”

Caleb didn't answer, shifting in his seat beside the bed restlessly. There was something he wanted to say. Either he didn't know how to say it or he didn't really want to. Guess he was doing the talking.

“You look like crap run over twice.”

“Are you okay?”

The second time his health had been inquired upon.

“Is everything alright? Something going on I should know about?”

“Been having nightmares since we, you know, did the soul stare. Can't sleep. How the heck do you?”

“Changing the subject,” Chase observed, “But okay. I guess my body just gave out this time. Not sure when I last ate or slept, so, not good. And the nightmares? They're always there, just varying in degrees of awfulness and how often they show.”

“Sounds shitty.”

That didn't sound much like Caleb. Maybe what an exhausted Caleb sounded like. He wouldn't know. He didn't know any of the Sons that well. The last time he'd had a motive, an agenda the entire time he pretended to be a good guy, a friend. Now he was directionless, without a clue of what he was doing.

He tried to play at humor. “Not as shitty as getting my ass kicked near every day.”

Caleb didn't find it funny, so he went on, growing more solemn as he did.

“Not as shitty as having this magical power I couldn't even begin to understand. Not as shitty as finally meeting my real father, albeit ghost form, only to find out way later that he lied to me, screwed with me, so I would try and get his revenge against the covenant. My dad's the bad one though, isn't he? Bad blood. I don't get why you let me into your coven.”

“Because I'm coming around to the idea you're not bad at all. You found someone you believed was family, someone who actually cared about you. He used that belief to manipulate you.”

“I had Helen and Arthur. I had Selene.”

“You found blood and you trusted it and it betrayed you. My dad was a dick. A selfish asshole who cared for my mom long enough to get her pregnant. He was sort of there when I was growing up, but he might as well have been dead. He lived for the magic, used and used, and his body aged way faster for it. Ended up a young, old man hidden away from the world.”

“But he did love you, in the end. That was his power passed over to you the night you ascended, wasn't it?”

Caleb nodded. “Yeah.”

“And that's why you won. You had love of family, friends, and Sarah to power you up. All I had was a hate I didn't understand.”

He managed to subdue the bitterness leaking into his voice.

“That was before. This is your clean slate, okay?”

Chase sighed. His body felt tired and his mind was joining him there. Caleb fidgeted with the chair some more.

“What's wrong? You're apprehensive about something.”

“Someone came to my house asking after you. Seemed concerned about your well-being and wanted to check on you. We told Selene where you were staying when Tyler and Reid ran into her in town. She's the only one who could have told this guy your condition. I didn't know him, so I sent him away.”

“Did he happen to leave his name?”

“Jason.”

“Aw, crap. I've got to go see Selene.”

Caleb perked up in his seat, livening his exhausted appearance substantially. “What? Why? Who is this guy?”

“Trouble.”

/

_10:15 a.m._

Ever consider what it would feel like to have no purpose? Nine times out of ten, there is someone who has no meaning. This someone will pass out of the world as they entered it, insignificant and alone. In the grand scheme of the universe, we exist in a tiny bubble of time, people, places, and things. He was just one person out of billions. He shouldn't matter. But he did.

Chase knew he was being hunted, knew he shouldn't stay in the area if he wanted to keep him and the people he cared about safe. Someone that driven to break apart the covenant, claim all that power, wasn't going to stop. He was barely considered an adult by the world's standards. Still a teenager. Still struggling to make and keep the few real connections he managed so far in this life. He guessed it was why he didn't run when Sarah and Kate forced a meal down his throat. Trying to find a place for himself for once was probably why he'd joined the Ipswich coven in the end. He guessed it was why he was on his way to the inn to see Selene.

If his life so far could tell anything, it would tell he was anything but lucky. The power of a warlock he'd been born with had the ability to keep him and others safe, yes. It also meant a whole lot of responsibility to keep himself in control, and ensuring he didn't draw unwanted attention. He had gotten this unwanted attention from an uncle he never knew existed, and now from this guy who was giving him a dirty look as soon as he entered the lobby area of the small inn.

The guy didn't know about his power, but it didn't make him less worse than Austin or his dad, or his adoptive parents. Sheesh, it had most definitely been high time he found new company. It simply wasn't as easy to change one's self as he'd like it to be.

“Hey, Jason,” he mumbled in a neutral tone, not looking to stir up anything.

“Chase.”

So much for that hope. He was greeted rather short and unreceptive. It would be next to impossible with Selene in the building. If he was going to be treated like gum sticking to the bottom of Jason's shoe, fine, he'd act like it.

“Still pining after a girl who appreciates you nice and secure in that zone... What was it called again? Oh yeah, the friend zone.”

“Way I see it, I'm moving up. You _did_ abandon her. Didn't even say goodbye.”

Jason shook his head slowly from side to side in a mockingly sympathetic gesture. When he stopped, a smirk began to appear on his face. What the hell was he smiling about? Chase decided he was going to try and take the higher ground here.

“She cried on my shoulder last night. Crying all about how she didn't know what to do when it came to you. Said maybe she was making a mistake. Don't worry. I held her real nice and tight, late into the night.”

“Friend zone,” Chase spat, giving up his momentary desire to be the mature one.

“Yes, I do believe that's where you're headed.”

Ugh, okay. Enough of this high school drama. “Tell you what, why don't we both act like adults and not speak about Selene.”

“Hm. Fine by me. What would you like to talk about, Chase?”

The other said it with a dark humor, causing his eyes to narrow.

“How about what you're doing here?”

“Selene came here.”

“And?”

“And I answered your question. My turn to ask one.”

“What? Are you stalking her or something?”

He flashed him a tight, humorless smile. “My turn.”

Okay, things were never comfortable when they were in the same general vicinity, but this was an entirely new level of discomfort. Jason had always been obsessively in love with Selene Rogers as her eternal childhood friend. The guy tried to gang up with Selene's parents to try and get her to break up with him when they first started seeing each other.

This was something else though. This was different than what was familiar. It wasn't crazy in love or crazy “I'll be your enemy over a girl”. It was just plain crazy.

Jason moved unbearably close and Chase had to back it up to avoid having lips brush against his ear. When he whispered, it was done slow and measured. He had definitely been waiting for him in the lobby. His words sounded planned out and especially sinister.

“How long do you calculate you'll live? That's my question for you, Chase. Stay away from Selene after today. Never see her again and you don't have to answer my question. If you don't listen to me, I'll answer it for you.”

To say he was incredulous when he felt the knife press against his stomach would be generous. Shit, Jason was crazy stalker material. His initial urge was to repel the bastard back with a sharp blast of energy. Instead, he used the two very adept hands God gave him to wrench those curly blonde locks back until it hurt. The knife pressed harder against the thin fabric of his t-shirt in response, threatening to cut through and into skin.

As quickly as this escalated to potential violence, the moment was gone in an instant. It was like Chase had taken a deep breath and come to realize it was his imagination. Jason took two steps away, no pocket knife in sight, and twirled around to greet the girl walking in through the front entrance.

“Trisha! I didn't know you were in Ipswich.”

“Just outside, actually. But my purposes are for this town. I'm onto a story I think.” She spoke with such certainty and it was inevitable she was going to regale them with her exploits of late, whether they wished to hear them or not. “There's something strange about this town. The whole area. Maybe even criminal. Criminal stuff always makes the headlines.”

“Criminal?” Chase inquired, now truly curious where she was going with such thinking.

“That's right,” Trisha proudly confirmed. “A few days ago some night club had to shut down early when guys with guns came in, terrorizing the place.”

“That sounds like a crime, but how is it strange?” he dared ask.

“This whole area has a high rate of accidents, including unexplained incidents and deaths.”

She seemed happy, excited even, at the idea.

“Deaths? I've lived here for a good while and haven't heard about any strange deaths.”

“You just don't know where to look. I've read autopsy files for four different young men, three who didn't live in this area anymore, but all originally from Ipswich.”

“That's a weak connection to mean there's foul play,” Chase pointed out.

“Weak?” Trisha disagreed. “These four deaths occurred in the span of two months, five months ago. There's a heck of a coincidence.”

Jason added to the conversation for the first time since his initial greeting. “What do you think could be going on?”

She positively beamed, journal clutched lovingly to her chest. “Could be a serial killer! I could be on the trail of a genuine psychopath. Maybe I could even be the one to name him if I get the first story on it published.”

“Were they all killed the same way?” asked Jason.

Chase glanced at him. Why was he so curious? Jason and Trisha were friends, but he'd never cared for her stories. “Gossip for grown-ups,” he always would say.

The avidly up and coming reporter crinkled her nose at the question. It was a clear signal she didn't have the answer she wanted to give on that. At least Trisha was about reporting the truthful facts, not embellishing or creating things as she researched and wrote.

“Well, two died from blunt force trauma. Apparently it was like their bodies repeatedly hit a wall or ground or something. As for the other two, the cause of death was listed as inconclusive. Still, similar enough for me to go looking.”

“And how did you happen upon these autopsy reports?” Chase interrogated, concerned for the legality there.

“I know somebody.”

“Trish.”

“I know somebody who knows somebody, okay? Nothing to it.”

“Breaking the law,” Jason teased.

No sign of crazy. Only nice, sweet, fun Jason Mathers. What a friend. Chase fought the urge to roll his eyes. Meanwhile, Trisha was woefully unaware of his other side and grinned wide at his words to her.

“I must find the truth by whatever means necessary.”

/

Selene was crying into her pillow completely frustrated she was crying into her pillow. She stared at the phone which she'd thrown far away from herself after hanging up on her parents. Betrayal was what she was to do. But now that she found Chase and was with him again, talking again...

The cell rang and she hurried to check. It was her mom. No way. She wouldn't answer. She would leave and protect him. This couldn't happen.

Pocketing the phone, she went to the mirror and used tissue to wipe her face dry. Her eyes were rimmed red but it wasn't too obvious she'd been crying. Satisfied enough, she scanned the room for the backpack still packed and grabbed it and her jacket. The door swung shut behind her and she headed downstairs.

A little startled to see Chase in the lobby, she was more caught off guard seeing Trisha and Jason also here.

“Hey, you guys,” she greeted with a smile. “What's up? What are you doing here?”

Chase hung in the background while Trisha and Jason easily made themselves the center of attention.

“Hello! We heard you were staying here,” said Trisha. “How much school are you planning to miss?”

“None. I'm heading home.” That opened the topic to breach for her. Convenient.

“What do you mean you're going home?” Jason demanded, puzzled.

Chase's expression gave away he was thinking the same question. Selene looked at her friend, avoiding the other man.

“I spent the night making up my mind. I've decided I'm wasting my time hanging around. I have to move on.”

“What are you saying?” sought Chase, confused and hurt.

She forced herself to look at him, smiling softly while holding in fresh tears. “Our break up. It's official, okay? I'm going back to Haversfield and if you're wondering why, you shouldn't be. You lied to me. We're done. There's just no point.”

“No point?”

He sounded so hurt and she was definitely breaking his heart. When did she become this person? When did Chase become the person he was today? Why wasn't anything easy anymore?

“You don't know what you're saying,” he began to insist.

“Really, Chase? I don't know?” She folded her arms across her chest and stiffened her stance. “We both know I shouldn't be here.”

It didn't seem he would decipher her falseness. He was too hurt and her lying making her feel like crap sold the break up better. She was a shit person.

Chase jabbed a thumb in Jason's direction. “Stay or go, make sure you watch yourself with that guy. He's obsessed with you! He's dangerous. You have to be careful.”

Okay, the anger was becoming genuine. “Are you jealous? I've known Jason since we were kids. He's my friend!”

Jason reached for her shoulder to reassure but she jerked out of his space, too annoyed to receive an attempt at comfort. He recovered from the rejection fast and offered her a gentle smile.

“Do you want me to take you home? You shouldn't be alone.”

Selene shook her head immediately. “No, I'm fine. I'll get home on my own.”

Her friend looked openly disappointed this time, scowling a moment before cooling off. “Okay. See you later.”

She watched him leave and opted to go herself. Glancing between Trisha and Chase, she avoided direct eye contact and pasted a smile on.

“I'm gonna get going. I hope things are okay with you guys but I need to feel normal. Stay safe, alright?” Selene walked to the exit door and turned to see Chase a final few seconds. “Goodbye, guys.”

He didn't say goodbye although Trisha did, somewhat both confused and cheerful sounding in her voice. Their eyes did meet by chance and he averted his gaze so she copied the move. She was a high school kid. Things shouldn't be this complicated. She left the inn, figuring out in her head how she would be getting home.


	10. Stay or Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on, chapters will be new. The first nine were what was written years ago. I'll do my best to cobble together a story out of old notes. I'm thinking it will probably be another nine chapters. Thanks for reading!

**_“It is rumored there is only one way to kill a Son of Ipswich before their time, and that is to place a symbolic cursed necklace around their neck, binding their hands and feet with material sewn in the symbols of curse. Place them on their knees and finish them with a deadly blow.”_ **

**_-Excerpt from the Book of Damnation_ **

“I..care about you, Chase.”

He failed to tear his eyes from the door. “Yeah, I know.”

“No.” Trisha took a few moments to gather her thoughts and speak. “I mean I really care.”

Peering over his shoulder, he examined her face. Distracted headspace cleared. Selene leaving and Jason creepily watching her fading with new disorientation. What she was telling him...

“Chase, I love you,” she proclaimed.

“I..? I don't love you..like that. Wha- I...”

She laughed, trying to hide her distress. “It's okay.”

What was he to say? “I'm..sorry.” Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

“Better to love than never find love, or whatever, yeah?”

“I guess...” He briefly made eye contact before lowering attention to the ground. “We're cool, right?”

Trisha smiled, shrugging a shoulder. “Yeah, we're cool. Wanna see a movie or something? Distraction would be ideal..?”

Chase didn't want to seem too relieved. And it wasn't awkward. That was good.

“Yes, a movie. Let's get out of here and have a good time for once.”

/

_Sunday 3:10 a.m._

Confusion, fog. The walls of the circular classroom didn't so much dissipate as he became aware he was elsewhere. He was walking. No recognition of his surroundings to be found. This place hadn't existed in centuries. He wasn't outside anymore. It felt like a different time and place now.

Chase was crouching in a dark room, waiting. It was cold and his environment filth. He mumbled to himself on repeat and it wasn't until a sudden clang which caused him to cease before resuming that he heard what he was saying.

“John, John, John.”

This was a dungeon, a prison. His gaze lingered on webs in a corner, watching the spider progress from one side to the other of the lowest web. Tiny creature would outlive him. The unexpected was always possible in this world. He seethed and regained calm immediate.

He felt strange. Chase didn't feel like himself. Where was he? What was he doing? Why? He wanted to stop it. He didn't want to be here.

“Putnam!”

A man in old clothes stood outside the bars, another man beside him unlocking the door. The second man was a guard. He had no idea who the first guy was supposed to be. Door open, the guard swung it open and stepped aside.

“Get up, Putnam! It's time for your execution.”

He was smiling. He enjoyed telling him he was about to die. Sick. Oh. Chase realized he was smiling too. He grinned at the man frowning to see his pleasure was being quashed. Chase squirmed in his skin. This felt wrong. He wanted out.

The guard entered the cell and pulled him to his feet, clamping iron cuffs to his wrists. They were heavy and he let his arms fall limply in front. Shoved to begin walking, he exited the cell and the guy who announced his fate led them toward a wooden staircase. Each step was deliberate and slow.

Cool night air rushed into his lungs. He breathed in, enjoying the lack of foul odor. He could smell wood..and oil. His gaze swept the area and located the spot a crowd had gathered, hushed until they laid eyes on his approaching form. The volume of the townspeople started to rise, blaming him for anything negative that ever befell them. Pathetic creatures unworthy of their vessels. He'd release them of their burden but it would be too good for them to experience such freedom. His was soon to arrive.

Chase glanced down and suddenly found himself secured to the trunk of a tree, wood piled all around him. His wrists were bound tight behind him with rope instead of manacles. He shuddered, viewing the crowd jeering at him, a few focusing on a man wearing a masked hood coming toward him on the shaky wooden stage. He carried a torch and the few were laughing and encouraging him to light the fire. They hated him. They were strangers. He didn't recognize a single face. Why was this happening?

“You'll die like the rest of us.”

He panicked, straining to break out of the bindings. Who was talking? It was him but not him.

“Burn 'em, drown 'em, hang 'em for the crowd.”

There was momentary confusion and hesitation in those nearest paying attention. They tried to find their bearings. The torch dropped and the fire ignited, rapidly increasing in circumference. His feet and legs were hot, only growing hotter. He shifted to ease discomfort. It was impossible. He was trapped.

“Hehehe... You'll go too..Son.”

Chase let out a scream of pure agony. The man was laughing, harsh and mad, deriving joy from his painful demise. Sheep knew nothing. He would pass on to the next world. It hurt so bad! Chase sobbed and screamed again. They were burning. He was burning!

His screams may have woke the entire inn. Fortunately, there weren't too many occupants. He rolled on his stomach trying to smell Selene's scent on the pillow and sheets in desperation for comfort. Chase couldn't sniff out the aroma but once he ascertained reality, he sat upright.

Wiping at a sweaty brow, his eyes clouded over into black when someone communicated with him from afar.

“Chase, did you see that?”

Disoriented and still a bit confused, he uttered, “You saw?”

Caleb replied in the affirmative, questioning, “That was John Putnam? Your ancestor burned at the stake?”

“Yes. Ever since my dad willed his power, I've had nightmares of past relatives' lives sometimes. You seeing it too..is new.”

“We're yet linked from the soul search. I think that's why I experienced it with you.”

He thought of a question of his own. “It was strange. It felt like Putnam was talking to me direct. But that's impossible. It's a dream of a memory, nothing more.”

“The man said son, whether he was referring to us or the generic term, I don't know.”

“I'm gonna get sleep,” Chase lied. “Goodnight.”

Caleb didn't say anything in response and his eyes returned to normal. He felt he was alone again. Climbing out of bed, he went to the bathroom to take a leak. This was Selene's rented room. The owner gave it to him after he flashed plenty of cash to pay the bill in her place.

While washing his hands, he stared in the mirror. Light from a streetlight outside barely streamed in the small room so he couldn't see much besides his shadow reflected. Sleep would elude him tonight. He grabbed his jacket. Maybe a walk would put him in the proper mindset for rest.

/

The dark colored vehicle with tinted windows pulled up to the bar on a remote stretch of road. Austin observed the driver quickly exit his seat to get the door for him. Drawing his hands out of his jean pockets, he shifted them into his jacket pockets. That blasted necklace was in the left one, tempting him to express his foul mood.

A splendidly dressed man waited inside the back of the limo, puffing on a cancer stick. He resented the concept of being stuck in a cloud of stench but nodded to the driver before climbing in to sit. The door shut and he closed his eyes while reclining on the leather. He opened his eyes when he heard the driver seated in the front, shifting the car to drive.

His companion appeared to be awaiting his attention and seemed satisfied he had it. “You revel in torment too long. You failed.”

Austin sneered, irritated by the scolding. “So the guy can withstand serious torture. So what? He's a little unhinged, all that power going to his head. He'll slip up. He isolates himself. I've got a fish on the line. Just gotta reel her in. Won't be a problem.”

He was becoming even more irritated feeling compelled to provide explanation to his present partner. The car turned a little rough and he looked over his shoulder toward the windshield. The driver had been viewing them in the top mirror but averted his gaze back on the street ahead to give driving his concentration. Idiot.

“He's a boy. Don't worry about him. Our plans will unfold well enough in a different manner.”

Austin removed the necklace from his jacket pocket and threw it on the seat near the other. In response, the older man picked it up and secured the loathsome tool around his neck. He'd rather use his power full force and let the victor be the strongest. It was him of course. No argument.

“It's a shame my foolish nephew joined their covenant. A bunch of kids playing grown-up... He'll have to learn the hard way there are consequences for unwise decisions.”

He put out the spent cigarette in an ashtray containing plenty of used stubs. “Things will unfold all the same.”

Leaning forward in his seat with a frown, he cupped his hands together on his thighs. “You're okay with it? A covenant of five forms a pentagram. That's potential we might not want to deal with head on.”

He wasn't afraid of a fight if that's what it came to. He'd handle whatever he needed to. But he could also be practical. His power was four. They were five united. It posed a danger.

“I'm fine with it. We will turn it to our advantage.”

The car slowed and parked in the lot. Ah. They'd arrived where he left his car. Austin pushed out of the limo without giving the driver a chance to treat him like he couldn't open a door.

“Better hope you know what you're doing,” he said as a last note before parting ways.

“And you'd do better knowing who you're dealing with.”

The door shut exactly on the end of those words and he stared at the black, seething. _He_ had to get the final word? _He_ would lecture and talk down to _him_? Austin was left watching the vehicle drive away. His gaze turned to the wooded area. It was yet dark. He glanced at the half-hidden moon. Still time for a run.

/

He forced himself to wait until a reasonable hour of the morning. As soon as Chase deemed the sun high enough and the hour late enough, he tugged his cell phone off the charger. Hitting the number on speed dial, he listened to the ringing, growing apprehensive with each new one. What if he shouldn't be calling? What if she didn't answer because it was him calling? What if she _did_ answer?

_“Hello.”_

“Selene!” Chase calmed his speech, embarrassed he had a bit too much energy in his voice. “Uh, hi, Selene. Er... How are you?”

_“How do you think I am, Chase?”_

He paused, considering what to say. “I don't know,” he finally answered honestly. “I-I hope you're okay.”

She didn't respond. He frowned, uncertain. “Have you gone back to Haversfield?”

_“I'm out of high school; you've fallen behind and ditched your education. You're choosing what's easy, ignoring responsibilities and people who care about you. You should do what's right.”_

Chase couldn't help but notice she never answered his question. It sounded like she was trying to mother him, essentially telling him to be good and behave. Frustrating. He didn't understand what she wanted.

_“You picked what was important. Your new friends. Being there for Trisha when she needed you after her grandma died. Not me though. When I thought you'd noticed me the way I wanted at last, you left. You never share with me, tell me things. You keep your life private then there's no room for me. I don't know why I expected anything different.”_

It was true the two of them just started dating when he headed for Ipswich. He hadn't treated his friend right leaving sudden like he did. The power was a massive distraction. Caffeine addiction, liquor addiction, or some other drug? Chase seriously doubted those people had a thing on his addiction to raw power. Actual magic, having the ability to use telepathy, telekinesis, augmenting physical actions, illusion spells...

_“Chase? You there?”_

The lamp he was elevating with his mind dropped, making a loud clatter. He winced and shook his wrists to divert attention from the obsession to use. He hated he was so messed up. Why'd he have to be like this?

“I'm here. Sorry.”

_“Some scars will never heal from the way we were.”_

Words mulled over for a while. They never had time to be anything serious. He'd like to think she was overreacting. He knew she wasn't. Chase refused to believe he might have messed it up before they even got a chance. He never opened up to her, never was with her entirely.

“The way we are,” he told her, smiling a little as he talked. “It's great. I love you, Selene, and you love me. Admit it. The way we are, it's...”

_“The way we were, Chase. The way we were.”_

“Come on. Won't you at least give us a chance?”

He wasn't sure she heard what he said. There was noise of people in the background.

_“I have to go. Bye.”_

Chase tossed the phone on the bed, releasing a disgruntled exhale. She mentioned friends. Did he have friends? His oldest friend confessed love for him and his supposed new friends tolerated him because they were all warlocks. Selene was a friend and then..wasn't.

He opened his wallet and carded through to photos. Him, Selene, and Trisha caught in time laughing and smiling. A school trip to the zoo for upperclassmen. It was Selene's senior year so she insisted they attend the optional day out of the school building. She graduated and he transferred to the Sons academy early in his own senior year. What a mistake. He wished he could take it all back; undo everything since he turned eighteen.

His fake ID was tucked behind a credit card he rarely used. He closed his wallet and made himself shower and change clothes before exiting the inn. It was yet morning when he entered a bar within town borders. Wasn't smart to drink in a place that could recognize him for the high school student he was so recently. He was fine with the risk. Using or drinking. The only two vices that would let him feel good.

A few drinks in and he went from angry and bitter to a kind of depression. He ordered an extra drink and slid off the bar stool to sit in a booth. There was more privacy. While the bartender seemed to accept him and his ID card at face value, a waitress sporadically eyed him. Ignoring her, he focused on the awful but wonderful alcohol.

Someone dropped into the booth across from him, passing a note to rest beside his glass of scotch.

_I can't do whatever this is anymore. It's too hard. If loving you is this difficult, I can't do it. Do what's right. I trust you will do that one day when you figure out who you are. Have a good life, Chase. Love, Selene._

He groaned. “How many times does a girl have to break up with me? Damn.”

“Guess she just wanted to make her point clear.”

Chase lifted his head. “You enjoying this, Pogue?”

The guy sighed. “Nah. You stay away from Kate and we won't have a problem.”

He smirked a little, grabbing his half-finished drink. “You know she finds me cute, yeah? She could have used the term, 'hot'. Can't remember quite what the ladies say about me.”

The youngest Son not yet ascended sat next to Pogue, waving at the paper. “You read the back?”

He flipped it following momentary reluctance.

_People are born good. They want to be good. But there is something in the world that makes them bad. Something that is always trying to keep them from being good._

He chuckled. That message failed to be signed but had Lionel written all over it. His former butler and self-appointed guardian was fond of sharing words of wisdom. Although he didn't think he and Selene conferred together on their individual messages to him, they were both hoping he'd be a good boy. How quaint.

While he was reading, a third Son joined them with a beer. Pogue's brow creased seeing the teenager with liquor but he said nothing. Chase was busy pondering why Lionel and Chase were socializing, period.

“I can heal your liver if you want. It's a perk I got now that I'm a full power fella like you guys.”

“What can you do again?”

“I can cure ailments like poison. Booze is a poison so...”

Grimacing, Pogue straightened his slouch and gripped the table's surface. “Our powers aren't for wasting. We're adults now. We have to learn to quit the needless crap like jumping off cliffs or playing juvenile pranks.”

“Great.” Chase realized he didn't know why he had company now. “Why are you here?”

Oh. They did bring the note. Guess that could be the reason. But all three? Where was Caleb? Dutifully attending class unlike these students?

“Did you forget?” Tyler asked, sounding on the edge of annoyed. “You're one of us now.”

“We look out for our own,” Reid added, giving him an upward nod.

He polished off the glass and reached for the spare drink which was pulled out of his reach by magic. Staring at Tyler, who grasped his glass, he was surprised to watch him take a sip. Chase glanced around at them.

“Go back to school or wherever you should be. It's a mistake being near me. I bring nothing but trouble and should be avoided. Selene wised up. You should too.”

Feeling a tad queasy, he rested his chin on his arms stretched on the table. He drank too much. Were tears leaking out of his eyes? Not cool. He wiped at his cheeks with his sleeves to try and hide them from witnessing more of his breakdown.

Chase wasn't even worth a loud fight or a calm understanding in person to her. She left him every bit similar to how he up and left her. This was deserved. His life sucked.

“It wasn't that bad...”

He laughed at the absurdity of the statement, peeking over at Pogue. “Are you shitting me? I was a power-hungry maniac! It was bad.”

“Haha, yeah, okay. That's true.”

Pogue studied him and Chase sat normal in the booth, wondering what he was thinking.

“My power's healing others as you know,” he said. “And you should know how much it took outta me to heal your ass after your uncle got you. You best be grateful.”

He had the decency to look away at the far side of the restaurant for no good reason other than avoidance. He never did get around to saying thank you. Chase was a self-involved dickhead. Fantastic.

“Mm, thanks. Ah..yeah, sorry.” His stomach rolled, or twisted more like. Ugh... Why did he drink so much?

“Speaking of school,” Tyler mentioned, a smile growing. “I think it's time you start again.”


End file.
